Leah's World

At last I made it... Camexpo 2011

2011-10-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

It has literally taken me 3 years to get to this event.

The year before last I even bought the ticket and paid to do a workshop on the day, then realised not only could I not go, but it was too late to give it to anyone else.

But finally this year I wasn’t heavily pregnant, nursing a very new born or booked somewhere else and therefore free to attend The Complementary, Natural & Intergrated Healthcare Event of the year, held in the infamous Earls Court London!!!

Hubby and my girls dropped me and the little man off to the event, then went off to my sister’s house, who met me there later on.

Come to think of it, it was also the first time my son and I were out completely on our own for any length of time, and he’s 1yr 3mths, so that was fun too. Going back to just dealing with one child brought back some fond memories.

But back to the event.

To be completely honest, after walking round and taking everything in for about 20 minutes, I was ready to go home.

It just seemed to be rows and rows of companies trying to sell me stuff, which made me think ‘Duh, Leah, what did you expect!”

But after another walk round, I began to see the point of sticking around, freebies and cheapies, two things I really don’t mind!!!

I decided to start talking to stall owners when they offered me samples, having a good look at what they had on offer, taking advantage of some really great buys and even managed to listen to a little of 2 of the talks.

In retrospect, if I was completely flying solo, I’d have been able to participate in a few more treats like the body fat testing, foot massage and head neck and shoulder massages, which were all on offer for just £5-10 each, there were also workshops and talks on all day, but what I did manage to do was enough this time round.

So here’s some of what I saw.

Akoma Skincare were there, who I’ve been buying all my African black soap and palm oil from recently, and after picking up some of their coconut oil and them giving me a free tub of shea butter, I think I might start getting those 2 from them as well. You can find them at http://akomaskincare.co.uk/

Owner Agnes at the back talk to a customer

Kara were giving out free samples of their new coconut milk, which tasted ok. I much prefer making mine fresh, and the good quality ones you get in the can are much thicker and creamier, but if you want a replacement to soya, rice, oat or cow’s milk, and you don’t mind a little sugar in there, it’s not a bad buy

Pulsin’ had bowls of chopped up bars for us to sample and they let me take about 5 handfuls of samples without saying a word. Their bars, which are made from whole food natural ingredients, were really good so I did eventually buy 5 of them to share with the family. You

can check them out at http://www.pulsin.co.uk/

Tongue reading – There were 2 ladies who were promoting their Acupuncture course and doing free tongue readings, so I got mine done and could have hugged the lady when she told me “really, I want to send you on a holiday tomorrow”. Though I normally get that reaction when I tell people I home school 4 children and run a business.

Blood microscopy – Brina Eidelson from http://www.inhealth.uk.com/index.html was there doing live blood microscopy mini sessions, which was the highlight of my day. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years but haven’t made a big priority of. Without going into too much detail (she gave me a lot of info considering it was only 20 mins), my blood looked pretty good, the blood cells were moving quite freely and fast and I wasn’t infested with bugs. But she did see a tiny clot and some protein linkage that she recommended me a nutrient supplement to help deal with.

The one thing she said that I really needed to hear was “Lack of rest can do more damage to my health right now than a bad diet”.

Patrick Holford – The room was packed for his talk, as you would expect for the star of the show. But I did manage to sneak in to hear him talk a little, sorry the picture’s not great.

Pukka Herbal Teas – They were giving away a free bag when you bought 3 boxes for £5 so I felt obliged to participate ;-) I got their Vanilla Chai, 3 Fennel and Relax teas, all big hits with the children and me

Tiana Coconut Nectar & Products – I’ve bought their coconut oil a few times before and found it a little expensive considering I can get the same quality for less at places like Akoma and Aromantics, but their coconut nectar (picture below) and raw honey was delicious.

This is the nectar from the coconut flowers, I've heard of it before but never seen or tasted it until now. It tastes like brown sugar, but not only mildly sweet, much lighter and with not noticeable pre sugar energy slump, I'd need to research it a bit more before recommending it though.

Here they have the oil, flour, honey, butter mixed with hemp oil and nectar.

Japanese Spiritual Healers

The View from above

My son running free in the foyer area upstairs

My pass

I bought home a tonn of literature, leaflets, magazines and samples to plough through at some point, if anything of interest pops up, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Until next time, check out my new podcast that I started on iTunes the other day called Natural You Network Radio athttp://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/natural-you-network-radio/id4758... , be sure to subscribe to get updated when new interview and talks get uploaded.

But for now, take care, stay healthy and I look forward to hearing from you soon

Leah

The Naturally You Coach

My Nourishing Liquid Feast Week

2011-10-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

I have stacks of books on health, I mean like nearly 150, but about 50 of them I have bought in the last few years, have never been read, but I keep buying more.

It’s not for want of trying to read them, it’s just finding or making the time to sit down and read a book isn’t that easy with 4 children, homeschooling and running a business.

So I decided to get into audio books, trainings and podcasts instead, which has be a revolution! My studies have gone from 1-2hrs a week to 5-6hrs plus, just by plugging in my mp3 player and getting on with the house work. It’s great!

Among other things, I’ve been drawn towards natural cancer treatments and post pregnancy nutrition, and after listening to hours of information on those topics, I realised that since having my children (5 in total) I’ve never taken the time to very specifically rebuild my nutrient levels. I also listened to the world renowned Charlotte Gerson from The Gerson Institute talking about their approach to curing cancer and other diseases, which was to mega dose their patients with large quantities of organic fresh juices as a main part of the program, to give their bodies all the nutrients needed to rebalance and heal themselves from their disease.

They give cancer patients 13x 8oz glasses of fresh vegetable and fruit juice daily for 3 months among other things.

Now, I don’t know about you, but the thought of having 13 glasses of fresh vegetable and fruit juice daily brings a big smile to my face. ! feel 13 glasses of it would be too much of a sugar rush (as most of their were apple and carrot),but 1 is ok.

So I decided to treat myself to a 5 day nourishing liquid feast, to boost my nutrient levels with food and just enjoy some really delicious drinks.

So during the last 5 days, I’ve had

Jelly coconut water and meat – such a wonderful treat, even if the cracking them open part took some time!

Vegetable & fruit juice – Celery, cucumber, carrot, beetroot, lime, apple, coriander and parsley mainly

Fish bone broth – sea bass or snapper

Almond or brazil nut milk

Green soups – avocado, cucumber juice, garlic, lemon, salt, coconut oil, cayenne

Green smoothie – spinach & mango

Herbal tea

Baked Kale

Pistachios

Water

There were maybe one or 2 other snacks that I can’t remember, but that was pretty much it.

I’m not going to give specific details on the amounts and my exact plan as I tailored it to me, so it’s not something I recommend anyone else follow to the letter and end up feeling terrible because it wasn’t tailored to them, so buyer beware!!!

How do I feel now?

Well, I finished this plan 2 days ago and here’s what I learned from it

I’ve always wanted to live just on delicious juices for a short while, which I thought would be too difficult for more than a day , but I now know I can
I realised that the bone broth I had, which is full of fat, minerals and trace elements, was perfect at getting rid of any hunger I did get
I really thought I’d struggle at points and get hungry and crabby as I transitioned, but it didn’t happen, I pretty much sailed through it unscathed
The green soups only lasted 2 days, I love them, but they didn’t work well for me during this plan
I was doing daily coffee enemas and taking aloe vera, Psyllium husks and bentonite clay which I think really added to the success
I’m still fully breastfeeding our son, whose now 1yr and 2 mths and when I change my diet in anyway, I always look at my breast milk production as a sign of whether it’s working or not, and there was no change during the plan or any reaction in him, so thumbs up
There was one drawback. I wanted to use this time to rest and I was convinced I’d have no energy so I didn’t plan any work in the evenings. But even from the first night, I had bags of energy and found it difficult to switch off and go to sleep, it took about 3 nights for me to actually get tired before midnight, that’s definitely not what I expected.
If I do it again, I will definitely exercise daily and sleep and wake with the sun as much as possible.

So that was my week, I’m going to move onto the next phase of it starting tomorrow with 1 big meal and 1 snack a day with the nut milk, bone broth and herbal teas still there.

As it’s getting colder, the high water vegetable juices are going to take a back seat for now.

I’m looking forward to enjoying some baked salmon and sweet potato, mushroom and spinach omelettes and falafel, humus and grain free tabouli this week

See you all soon

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Get the recipe to the fish bone broth I made here http://naturalyou.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-make-fish-stock - I used vinegar not wine in my version, and I used palm oil too.

If you could start over, what would you be?

2011-10-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, I remember my mum telling me that she always loved to travel and before her first child, my older brother, was born, she wanted to be a nurse in the RAF so she could work at the same time. I remember seeing pictures of her and my dad and Aunty on holidays in different European destinations.

There’s one picture where she looks like a 1970’s model in a fur coat in the middle of a road in Italy or Spain, smiling and throwing bread crumbs to a flock of birds, and another picture of her and my dad in their swim suits on the balcony of somewhere hot and sunny.

Then we came, 3 bundles of joy and for the last 3o years, she’s been land bound, working in a local hospital as a highly trained nurse and operating department assistant (special nurse!).

I remember wanting to be a lawyer when I was younger, because I thought they earned loads of money and got to wear nice clothes, then I wanted to be a night club owner, so I could be cool and rich, then when I came to my senses a bit in my later teens, I decided to follow in my mum’s footprint (much to her horror) and become a nurse.

After nursing for a while and seeing how ineffective the system was at actually treating people, I decided that the job that was in the medical profession that had the biggest impact and could do the most good was to be a paramedic. But then, I realised that it would be crazy to be a mother and a paramedic and I knew I wanted children so I knocked that idea on the head, and the rest is mystery (my-story)!!!

But, if I could retrain right now or live my life again, the careers I’d consider pursuing are

A food critic that got to sample delicious foods all day all around the world

A world class chef

An Olympic hockey player (I was pretty darn good in school)

A professional tennis player (I wasn’t very good, but I loved it)

An teacher in an African orphanage

A top research scientist

If you could start your life again or launch a new career, what would it be, post your comments below

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

The Naturally You Coach

http://www.thenaturallyyoucoach.com

Leah's Raw Food Feast from Leah Salmon

2011-06-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Results! I can feel my abs

2011-05-20T04:23:00.001-07:00

After 5 pregnancies in 6 years, my abdominal muscles have been stretched back and forth to the nth degree.

After every birth, I make sure I do ab exercises to get things back in check as soon as possible and breastfeeding significantly helps my wombs pop back into shape too, which is very important post pregnancy.

I always experience what I call the 5mth spread, where after getting things relatively back to pre pregnancy fitness, I lose focus on it and my abs get abandoned.

I guess it's because 5ths is one of the growth spurt times in babies, some start teething, move around more so you have to be very vigilant and on your toes with them, they start sitting up and for some parents solids have been introduced, which in many cases I strongly disagree with, but that's for another post.

So at 9 1/2 mths old, my youngest is off doing his own thing and as I've mentioned in previous posts, so am I, in on mission physical fitness.

So this morning, after getting a little more sleep than last night (although I didn't hit the sack at 10:30 - 11:30pm as promised yesterday), I ventured into an abs workout, which was a combination of the routines in these videos from Seah Croxton from Underground Wellness and his buddies.

Pre pregnancy, I used to pride myself in having very strong abs and I remember tensing them and feeling how hard they were after a workout. I haven't done that in years probably. But today, feeling a little brave, I tensed them and to my tremendous joy, they were there, hard than before and not covered in such a think layer of baby fat. It's far from a six pack, but getting further away from a pot belly.

One thing I am also sure of is that sticking to a whole food diet and my metabolic type recommendations is taking me 70% of the way to my goals. Whole foods is great, customised whole foods the winning ticket.

PROGRESS, I LOVE IT :-)

It's sunny again today in Dunstable, but I know I'll be confined to the office for most of the day.

But as I actually did my workout in the garden, on the grass, in the sun this morning (absorbing the wonderful rays and topping up on Vitamin D production), I don't feel too deprived.

Have a great day what ever you get up to today

Take care and stay healthy

Leah Salmon

http://www.TheNaturallyYouCoach.com

I'm not advocating this, just sayin

2011-05-19T00:27:00.001-07:00

It's just after 8:30am, my children have already been up 1hr and full of energy from the moment their eyes opened. I however, the distracted self employed lady that I am, was up until 4am (working, surfing the net, preparing food, ordering shopping online, washing my hair, all relatively important, but clearly shouldn't have kept me up that late)

I remember times when I'm not on track with my foods and exercise, I'd be crying and screaming at them now, through no fault of their own, just because I'm tired, ratty and my energy is out of whack.

But this morning I'm cool, even though I'd like a lie in, It's not because I'm particularly tired.

This new program I'm on is having a good effect on me in general, I can't wait to tell you more about it.

Now, please take note

I AM NOT ADVOCATING IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM THAT YOU SHOULD STAY UP ALL NIGHT AND GET 3 1/2hrs SLEEP

...especially when you have children, a business and a house to look after.

I just think the changes you notice in yourself when you start improving your diet and lifestyle, no matter where you start from, is noteworthy.

It's good to know that if I really needed to stay up late or wake up earlier (though proper planning and can largely avoid this) I won't suffer too greatly for it, but only if:

*I get back into a good sleep routine the next night

*Keep well hydrated

*Avoid foods that could drain my energy

*Grab a nap if I do get tired in the day

I'm planning on hitting sack by at least 11pm, which is 3 hours earlier than normal, one of my goals for this month is to get my .bed times closer to sun set so we'll see how that goes

Well off to homeschooling and housekeeping, it's hair today too, I'll be braiding mine and washing and braiding the 3 princesses

Have a lovely day in the summer sun

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

http://www.thenaturallyyoucoach.com

2011-05-18T03:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for ages I know, I've been busy as a bee with the Whole Foods Made Easy program which I'm loving teaching, working with private clients on their Naturally You Coaching Programs, working on bringing out more products and of course the joys of being a homeschooling mother of 4 under 6yr olds!

It's just after 11am and already this morning, I've managed to fit in a 40 mins Check level 2 corrective exercise routine (you can see me being shown the program with my trainer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNRTSTq8V78) break my shower :-( , make a yummy organic green juice and get stuck into some work.

Even though I woke up an hour later than I should have (thanks to my daughters turning off my phone alarm so they could play a game on it) it's been a good morning.

I'm working my way through 30 day plan, which started on Monday, I'll let you all know how it goes at the end, and if all goes as well as planned, you'll be looking at a brand new Naturally You Coach!

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day, I hope you enjoy yours too

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

http://www.thenaturallyyoucoach.com

Image from Green Power Juice Recipe in Leah's Raw Food Feast - Download your copy now at http://www.leahsrawfoodfeast.com

Everything you need to know about green juice!

2011-02-05T05:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Mum

2011-01-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today, 8th Jan is my mum's birthday!!!

She never celebrates it as she ALWAY works on the day

She's a nurse and I'm sure she thinks the hospital will close if she doesn't go into work!!!

She's by all accounts very good at her job and despite her complaints, she seems to love it.

As one on my all time role models, I've learnt so many lessons from my mother, Jennifer David (her surname is where I got the first part of Davidel from).

She has always been the hardest working person I know and as a result of her hard work she has always provided for her children. No matter what she went through (and she went through a LOT of hard and horrible situations when we were young) her hard work managed to mask it all

She's incredibly stubborn, if you tell her she can't do or have something, in her mind it's already done and the world will very soon see it manifest.

Alongside this, she can also find an answer to most problems she's faced with, I don't think I've ever seen her stressed, tired yes, stressed and in a flap, never.

She's got a wonderful sense of humour, whether it's entertaining her grandchildren who adore her or making fun of me and brother, she can normally see the funny side of things.

I was petrified of the look she gave me when I did something wrong when I was younger, to the point that she never had to hit me to discipline me, the threat and look was enough

Education and development was so important to her, I remember doing dictionary work on the weekends, she would literally open the children's dictionary and tell me to learn the page by the time she got back. We always had textbooks and workbooks we used when we weren't at school and when it came to our secondary education, she miraculously, on a nurse's salary, put all 3 of us through private tutors then a private secondary school.

She would also make sure we pursued our interests, my older brother got every computer he wanted, my sister and I went to ice skating lessons for years, we had guitars, trumpets, karate suits, rugby balls, tennis rackets, hockey sticks, sewing machines and more all provided for us (though like most children, our interest wasn't always long lasting)

There is probably so much more that's just part of me now that I'm forgetting.

From these examples she set, now:

Working long hours to achieve a goal is normal for me

I hate being told I can't do something, I can be like dog with lock jaw at times

I know there's always a way to get what you want, you just have to find it

I think I have a good sense of humour and can see the sunnier side of almost every situation

I've almost perfected 'the look' with my children

I homeschool my children, plan to continue homeschooling as long as possible and continually find ways to develop my own skills and my children's

Our relationship is not as affectionate as some mothers, and I don't get to see her as often as I'd like as she's always working, but in many ways, I do feel very loved and grateful to her.

Happy birthday mum

Love Leah

A Very Personal Message From Leah Looking Back On 2010

2011-01-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

Leah Salmon Interview on Caribbean Close Up Part 5

2010-12-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

Leah Salmon Interview on Caribbean Close Up Part 4

2010-12-19T19:13:00.000-08:00

Leah Salmon Interview on Caribbean Close Up Part 3

2010-12-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

Leah Salmon Interview on Caribbean Close Up Part 2

2010-12-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

Leah Salmon Interview on Caribbean Close Up Part 1

2010-12-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

Tropical Raw Vegan Cheesecake

2010-11-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

Blooper!!! Leah Salmon interviews Diane Sanfilippo from Balanced Bites

2010-10-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

Leah Salmon interviews Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites

2010-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

My Chat With Them Upstairs

2010-10-05T02:23:00.000-07:00

You know that 'thing' that you always wanted, but had no idea how you were going to get it?

You scribble plans on paper of how you'd save to buy it by the new year

You put it up on every vision board you've ever made

You drooled over it in a catalog

You day dreamed about all the things you'd do if you had it

But part of you considered the fact that it was probably just out of your reach

Well, I just about got to that point with my dream 'thing'

I've wanted to get one almost my entire professional career but every plan I'd made to get one had fallen through. It's a high ticket item and since I decided I'd really want to get on about 5 years ago, there have been new babies coming every year (with all their expenses), moving house 3 times and changing car twice (well, we actually drive a bus now to accomodate all the little one!)

With all of the above, an extravegent gift for myself just seemed too indulgent

But a few months ago it all happened, in this order

1. I decided that I was going to get it somehow very soon

2. I started the usual 4 month saving plan to get it (unconfidently)

3. I reaffirmed to myself that I wanted it 'somehow' and that I was worth the investment

4. I got a rush of new clients

5. I got an unexpected big payment for some work

6. I got an unexpected tax refund

7. My older cheaper version of the 'thing' broke and I needed a new one

8. I realised that I could afford to buy it outright

9. I got scared at the prospect of getting what I'd been dreaming of for years

10. I did nothing for a few days (crazy right)

11. I slapped myself for being a silly moo, went and discussed it with Hubby

12. I got online, made the order!

5 days later I was the proud owner of

The Vitamix 5000

Here's the big box it came it

Here's the inner box

Here it is on my kitchen counter

The universe (them upstairs, my guides and ancestors) pushed me to make this happen.

It was like they were saying

Universe: If you really want it, here's some more clients to help you pay for it

Me: No I can't

Universe: Ok, here's even more money that you weren't even expecting, so you couldn't have already allocated it bills and things, so now you can buy it

Me: No, I can't

Universe: Fine, we'll break your last blender, what you gonna do now!

Me: Nothing, this is a bit too real, I can actually do this, let me sit and do nothing for a few days

Universe: Are you really just going to sit there and do nothing

Me: Ok, you're right let me go and talk to hubby, but I bet he'll say we can't do it now

Universe: what did he say

Me: He told me to go upstairs and order it

Universe: Bingo!!! Happy blending

I sometimes feel that life is making things difficult for me, but in reality, struggles we go through are largely of our own making and small mindset changes can break us free from prisons we make for ourselves

You don't have to suffer, feel deprived or struggle.

Grab opportunities that will make you happy and improve your life with both hands

Don't let money, time or other people get in your way

And most importantly, don't make excuses for your own lack of inertia (inability to get the progression party started!!!)

Well, I'm off to whip up and batch of humus and then some ice cream

Have a lovely one

Grandad's Garden

2010-09-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

My father in law, Bob the butcher as he used to be called, is one of those loveable old west indian men who love to tinker about in the garden, growing their own fruits and veg, probably like their parents did back home in Jamaica.

We went to visit him earlier this year when we were down in London for the weekend.

The girls love playing in the garden there, so while they had play fights with their Uncle Christopher and Aunt Hilary, Grandad showed us what he'd been growing.

The first tree he took us to was a cherry tree, the cherries were small, deep red and looked so juicy. He picked one so I could taste it and even though it was quite tart, I liked it. He said they were ripening fast and if someone didn't eat them soon the birds would, so he offered to pick me some, YES PLEASE!!!

Here he is with Jeremy and my yummy (though quite tart) cherries

Cherries on the tree...

being processed!

Hey, stop laughing on the job!

nearly ready...

In the bag :-)

So while they were busy, I explored the rest of the garden and found

A very small pumpkin

Pears

A little strawberry

Apples

Thyme

I really thought this was a baby courgette, but it's a fig!

Cute little grapes

He also has green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, pak choi, chilli peppers, black currants and plums growing, all from an urban London back garden!

Who needs a supermarket when you've got Bob the Butcher with his green fingers (they're not really green, it's just an expression :-) .

Well, there's nothing like pictures of food to make me hungry, so I'm off for a snack, frozen red grapes I think

Have a lovely day, take care and stay healthy

Leah

P.S. Remember to sign up to get your Free 3 part video series from me http://davidel.com/takecontrol.html and join the Natural You Network, a new hang out spot for natural health lovers Today http://naturalyou.ning.com/

Every master was once a disaster

2010-09-14T12:34:00.001-07:00

There is a common misconception, (very common in fact, I still think it oftentimes), that an expert has always been an expert.

They were born that way,
with special powers,
different from everyone else,
special,
unique,
with a glowing halo over their head,
floating around on a cloud!!!

Is this really the case, NO WAY

The quote "Every master was once a disaster" by T. Harv Eker is so very very true and something you HAVE TO ACCEPT.

When you look at a successful expert chef, do you think they were always able to make 5 star dishes?

Many of us will never attempt to make a 5 star meal for ourselves because we convince ourselves that the chef is special, different than us and has something we will never have.

This is a cop out, a great excuse for you to never do what it takes, get up off your behind and make something of yourself, take control of your health and take charge of your life.

Believe me when I tell your that one of the best cooks I know was a terrible cook when she was younger. When it was her day to cook, her siblings would have a snack before dinner because they knew what she created would be pretty much inedible.

Now, this lady puts on a spread fit for several kings, people drool over her cooking and her cakes look like they come straight from a French patisserie.

Similarly, don't think that everyone who has good energy levels, doesn't have food cravings, likes whole foods and is able to put their thoughts into action and achieve their life goals got it all by magic.

There is typically one thing that separates master from disasters, do you know what that one thing is?

A Decision

Once you make the decision to make changes in your life and become the best version of you, that is when things start to happen.

You start reading self help and motivation books that have been on the shelf for ages
You start making phone calls and booking appointment for consultations and treatments
You start going through your cupboards with a binliner in hand, getting rid of all the junk food
You turn off the TV and whip out the Wii Fit
You take another look at the half finished business plan that's been sitting on your desktop for months
You soak some nuts or chop some fruit and veggies to make a smoothie for breakfast in the morning
You get online and order an organic box to come once a week

And the more small steps you take, the easier they'll become and the wonderful sense of achievement will keep you motivated to keep moving and changing and growing.

Realise you ALWAYS had what it took to be a FANTASTIC YOU, there really is nothing different between you and the 'experts' or 'successful people'

Eventually, you will be the one that everyone looks at thinking " I could never be like them, they are special, they're not like me, I'm just normal"

Action is king!!! If you don't take action, you'll never know

Now is the time to go from a disaster to a master, of your own life, future and destiny

What are you waiting for Master!

Have a great day, take care and stay healthy

Leah
The Naturally You Coach

After spending years as a nurse and medical secretary, Leah Salmon realised that orthodox medicine didn’t work and became a Naturally You Coach, helping people to use their foods and natural remedies to improve their health, instead of drugs, chemicals and surgeries. Now a published author of 2 books, a speaker, teacher and dedicated homeschooling mother to her 4 children, listen to Leah share the number one secret to great health at http://www.numberonesecrettohealth.com

and then there were 4...

2010-08-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Before I start, believe me when I tell you that the following is a quick version of a very, very, very long 2 days of my life!!!

It all started on Thurs 26th Aug 2010 at about 11am

I was 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant with our 5th child and I'd been having very mild contractions for about 4 weeks now, but today they were more painful and much more familiar.

Sporadically through the day they'd come, once every 10mins for a while, then every 30 mins, then every hour for a while. Like a few things in this pregnancy, this was new to me, once my contractions start, I'm in full blown labour quite quickly, apart from my first daughter, who was 10 weeks early and I was having contractions for 2 days before I realised I was in labour, but even then they were consistent.

Even though I don't pay too much attention to actual due dates, I wasn't really expecting to go into labour for at least another week or so, and seeing as my last daughter went a full 2 weeks over her due date, I really wasn't expecting it to be so soon.

The plan, as always, was to have a home birth, I normally go into labour at night when the children are asleep and my brother who lives about 10 mins away is always there in a flash to watch them through the night when I go into labour.

But this time, it was the middle of the day, children running all over the house and I'm having contractions, I really couldn't concentrate. In some cultures, the father isn't even allowed in the room during labour so that the mother can fully concentrate on giving birth and not on him, the children or anything else. Hubby is the perfect birthing partner, I wouldn't dream of going through it without him and I doubt he'd let it happen without him there either.

I literally felt like I couldn't go into labour because the children were there and we had no idea what to do with them if things progressed quickly. It was quite stressful and very uncertain as they were coming so randomly, I didn't know if it was a false alarm or the real thing.

As I contemplated the possibility of giving birth in front of the children due to our shabby child care arrangements things tapered off again until the night

The contractions kicked in more at about 3am, so we eventually called the midwives,

When you're booked in for a home birth, they always tell you that it will depend on how many midwives are free, as to whether they can come out to you, so when I called and was told “Sorry, there are no midwives free to come out to you right now, you’ll have to come in”, hubby and I gave each other a quick high five as we prepared to go it alone!!! Coincidentally, we were very prepared as i’d been reading an article on unplanned homebirthing to us the night before!

Minutes later, our fun got spoilt as the midwives called back to let us know that they were now free and on route.

Typically, as the midwives got there, fully equipped with gas, air and birthing kits galore, everything slowed down. She checked me out, I was only 2cm dilated, my cervix was tough (it should be soft to give birth) and posterior (which means it's tilted back and should be anterior - tilted forward to be ready for birth), so they left asking us to call back when things picked up a bit.

But they didn't that night, they stay at about 10 - 15 mins all night until around 7am when they slowed up a little.

By 11am Thurs, things were really picking up again and we made a mad rush get the children packed up to their aunt's in London, a 40min drive away. We were a little unsure if hubby would make it there are back before I gave birth, but after a few reassuring stone readings, he left and I tried to stay positive.

After seeing my first ever "show" which is the mucus plug that comes out to prepare your body for labour, I did my best to slow things down by lying down or getting on all fours bottom up, which worked for a while.

I started to watch my favourite stand up comic Kat Williams to take my mind off things, which was great, laughing your way through a contraction is highly recommended!

When hubby got back it was about 4pm, contractions were about 7mins apart and getting more intense, we went for a walk in the garden, finally decided to call the midwives and then it really kicked in.

The first midwife arrived at 5pm and by now my contractions were making me want to push, I was 5cm dilated now, the cervix was soft and was coming further forward.

As you need 2 midwives at a homebirth and the other one was about 40 mins away with the gas and air, the only pain relief you can have at a home birth, she told me to try and breath through the contractions and if I did have to have the baby she's have to call 999. The thought of going into labour with an ambulance crew and no gas and air was motivation enough for me to resist the serious urge to push and keep breathing

Thank goodness I'd read The Breath scroll!

So as I was being coached to breath through my contractions by the midwife and hubby to get baby in good position, I recalled that a few days prior, I'd joked to some one about going through the labour with no pain relief at all and it was nearly happening now. (Be careful what you say in jest guys!)

I remember them saying "Focus on your breathing, focus on your breathing", as I tried to memorise the pattern on the sheet I was birthing on to distract me from pushing.

Thankfully, at 6pm the second midwife arrived with gas, air and a very good reason for me start pushing if I felt the need to.

After 3 more contractions and several comments from the midwives about how calm the room was (aum was playing constantly, we always get that comment from our past 2 homebirths) and how well I was doing (which was very encouraging) the time had come.

I was "on all fours” which I think I much preferred to squatting, it was a little more controlled but still letting gravity do it’s thing.

I couldn’t help it now, I needed to push, I had 2 midwifes, the gas and air, hubby by my side, children safe with my sister and aum playing, I was finally good to go and the midwife said "yep, your baby is coming, do what you feel is natural Leah"

Another contraction and I felt the head coming down and nearly out, but then I literally heard an inner voice saying "stop pushing now, its not time yet", so I stopped pushing and the head came back in slightly.

Then a few very deep breathes later another contraction came and the same inner voice said "it's time now, your baby is coming" so I pushed, the head come out, which is always a massive relief, then I panted for a while, the first shoulder came out, then the second, then out slide the whole baby, what a relief.

As I slowly turned round, hubby announced "you have a son baby!"

I held the baby for a minutes before I started to rub some jasmine aromatherapy oil onto my tummy to help the placenta come out, 2 smaller contractions and an intact placenta shot out too, in 11 mins. The second midwife looked very impressed.

There's a drug they normally inject mothers with straight after birth to help them release the placenta and when she saw on my notes that I had declined it, she said the last birth she was at that declined the shot took 1 hour and 15 mins to give birth the placenta!

As normal, they tidied and cleaned me and the room quickly, hubby washed the baby, he latched on for a quick feed, weighed in 7lbs 2oz then off the midwives went, leaving us to spread the good news.

What a lovely life

P.S. To anyone who asked me if I'd be having anymore children while I was pregnant, I might have told you that if I had another girl I'd stop, but if I had a boy I'd probably want another one to give him some company. Those were the ramblings of a crazy pregnant woman, feel free to strike them from the record!!! Our family is officially complete!

I'm ready to be kicked up the bum, are you?

2010-07-16T06:19:00.001-07:00

During this week, while on a coaching call with a private client, I had a profound experience that I wanted to share with you.

I wanted to share it because it could help you to make the same life enhancing decisions I made as a result of it, which have created a whole new future for me.

Part of the work I do with clients is to help them to realise and work towards their life and health goals. To make this happen in a more powerful way, it's vital that they feel supported on every level, i.e.

Internally - Does every part of their body, every cell feel excited and driven towards making this change? Are they convinced and sold on it intellectually and emotionally?

Externally - Is their kitchen, bedroom, office set up to make this change happen easily and effectively

Physically - Is their diet and lifestyle going to give them enough energy to handle this change?

Spiritually - Are they connected to their higher self, God, angel, Kosmos, ancestors to provide them with support and a balanced connection to the spiritual energy source?

Through the coaching we had done so far, it had become apparent that it was time to make a connection to her higher self, so to help this happen, I did a guided visualisation with her (which reminds me, I need to send her the recording of it!)

I've done guided visualisations before with clients and for myself, the most vivid and powerful have always been through my spiritual guide Amun Nub Reakh Ptah through the Ancient Egiptian Order.

But after taking her though hers, I put the phone down and rested, eyes closed for a while. In a semi dream state, I recalled my own visualisation meeting my own higher self last year (a very big gap, naughty me).

What stuck me at that moment was that not only have I been boxing with one hand tied behind my back this past year, but that I CAN, SHOULD and WILL achieve so much more if I do these 3 things

1. Continue to invest in my personal development and stop wasting my time trying to go it alone. I can be Mrs independant, know it all, don't need any help at times, but whenever I ask for guidance I am always introduced to the perfect person or thing to help me at that time. It's at those times my business, health, mental, emotional and spirtual self SOAR.

2. Establish and strengthen my link with my higher self. Spiritual strength makes a massive impact on what you are able to achieve mentally and physically, but it's an part of us that is so easy to ignore and not give time to. My new life plan features this much more heavily and I'm excited about what I'll be able to achieve. My ancestors and higher self are just waiting to kick me up the bum in the right direction, I just need to reach out and let them know I'm ready, give it your best shot!!!

3. STOP saying if, START saying when. Once I decide I want something, it takes a brave person to stop me. But even though on the surface I'm making moves to achieve my goals, like most of us, I have the inner demon telling me it may not happen, it's not the right time, it can wait until next year, there's no rush. So my "When I do XY&Z" becomes "IF if do XY&Z".

We all do this to make it easier for us to fail at our health, our business, our relationships and even life in general, but we CAN NOT allow it to have a voice.

I have a renewed sense of purpose and vision for my future following this and visualisation and affirmations will figure a much bigger part of my work on myself and with clients to get us to where we deserve to be.

If any of this resonates with you, feel free to let me know by commenting below or emailing me at info@davidel.com , I'd love to hear from you

have a powerful day

Take care and stay healthy

Leah Salmon
http://www.TheNaturallyYouCoach.com

The Raw Mocha Angel: & Leah Salmon

2010-07-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

The Raw Mocha Angel: Leah Salmon

Naturally You Health Tip For Stiffness

2010-07-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share a quick Naturally You health tip that's helped my clients and I loads in the past.

If you get stiff in the mornings (in fact at any time), as well as looking at improving your foods, which you can do in just 6 weeks using my simple 7 step system here http://www.davidel.com/coachinggroup.html , try this:

Drink 2 glasses of water, with a tiny pinch of sea salt in each, 30mins before bed and right before bed, gently stretch your arms, legs, back and stomach.

Drink another full glass of water each morning and you'll be on your way to jumping out of bed !!!

have a great day

Take care and stay healthy

Leah
The Naturally You Coach
http://www.TheNaturallyYouCoach.com

How To Naturally Relieve Your Hay Fever Symptoms

2010-06-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

There are so many over the counter remedies and magic pills available to get rid of the allergic reaction many of us have to pollen during the high pollen months, but many of them come with unwanted and sometimes even un disclosed after effects, that are just not necessary.

So here are some other ways to help keep your symptoms at bay.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is to prepare for the season, don’t wait until your symptoms are full blown and we’re right in the middle of Hay fever season before you start taking some action, start preparing a few weeks before you know you normally start getting the symptoms

The past few months have been really busy for me and even I forgot to get myself ready for it, so after a sneezing fit after being in the garden the other day, I’ve put it in my diary to get ready from March next year!!! No more getting caught out for me next year!!! After just a few days of following these tips my symptoms have definitely improved though so don't worry if like me you forgot

During the season itself there are two simple things you can try. Firstly make sure you keep the windows and doors closed whenever possible, especially during the evening when the pollen settles, which is when many sufferers will starting sneezing more and reacting more.

Secondly, invest in an air purifier to filter the air and get rid of the pollen in the air in your home. They generally take up little electricity, so you can keep it going in one room for a few hours and have that as your sanctuary in the evenings.

Those are the things you can do to improve your environment. As far as preparing yourself internally, getting a good source of Vitamin C and Quercetin can help keep your immunity higher to the effects of pollen. You can get good levels of vitamin C from dark green leafy vegetables, fresh and frozen berries, oranges, kiwi, mangos, lemons, pineapple, tomatos romaine lettuce among other things. Quercetn can be found in red onions, apples, parsley, grapefruits and regular tea leaves.

Nettle tea and Ginkgo Biloba are two herbs that are reputed for helping hay fever sufferers manage their symptoms. Take 2 cups of nettle tea a day and a high quality Gingko biloba tincture can be taken as directed on the packaging

One of my favourite remedies for hay fever sufferers is fresh frozen bee pollen . You can get the one off the shelf, but the fresh frozen one is more potent at giving you relief. It is also a good vitamin and mineral supplement. It is sounds a bit crazy to eat pollen when that’s what you’re reacting to, but fear not, the air borne pollen you react to is different to the edible one, which is not only known for relieving hayfever, but also other allergic reactions.

I hope you have a good summer

Take care and stay healthy

Leah Salmon

http://www.TheNaturallyYouCoach.com

It was almost free range chicken for father's day dinner

2010-06-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

How can I wake up yesterday morning, ready to start preparing a loving father’s day breakfast for my husband before we headed out to a children’s party, only to find a CHICKEN wandering around my garden like he owned the place?

My neighbours to the left brought home the school pet chickens to look after for the holidays and they ended up staying. This was months ago, and apart from the occasional clucking in the day, you’d barely know they were even there. However, my neighbours on the on side have accommodated a horse, 3 dogs and a chicken in the last 3 months, and all their animals let you know they are there.

Apart from the horse, they have all found their way into our garden at some point.

I hoped that by the time we go back in the afternoon it would have found it’s way back home, but it was look very comfortable pecking around our vegetable patch.

While it was strolling round, I must admit, I did have visions of it ending up on our plate for father’s day lunch. I haven’t eaten chicken for 11 years, it’s not something I miss or think about really, only occasional when I see it cooked and smelling of barbeque or Jerk seasoning!!!

As stated previously, if have a low tolerance for animals, so it was left up to hubby Jeremy, on father’s day, to run round the garden chasing it, waving two sticks around, before it would leave.

When he managed to get it outside, our neighbours where there, so Jeremy said “here’s you chicken mate”, to which our neighbour replied, “Ahh you can keep it mate, it’s yours, maybe you can make a curry with it”, all before the lady of the house came out and grab it.

It would have been a different story if my brother and his wife were here. That chicken (which Jeremy says was actually a cockerel) would have been plucked, seasoned, roasted and served up for lunch in 90mins flat!!! At least I could guarantee it was free range, hormone and anti biotic free. I might have even tried a bit

But I have become used to it waking me up in the mornings with it’s cock a doodle doo’s, sometimes even before the children do, it reminds me of my lovely holiday last month.

Any who, I hope you all had good father’s day yesterday and treated the deserving father’s in your life to a good day. I’d make everyday father’s day for Jeremy if I could, he’s a bit of a catch as a father and husband, even if I do say so myself.

Have a good week every one and if you haven’t already signed up the FREE online talk I’m giving on 29^th June called Ditch Your Diet & Live Naturally – Why diets aren’t working and natural living is all you need, here the link you need to join todayhttp://www.davidel.com/ditchyourdietlivenaturally.html

Wet rooms and Sunny fields

2010-06-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Jeremy (my husband) and I decided to book a last minute family holiday. I’m expecting our 5^th child in the next few months, so it was a good opportunity to spend quality time with our 3 girls before a new body arrives.

I love the country side and when we went away last year, finding food to feed the children at theme parks and attractions was a bit of a nightmare. I was feeling a little carefree and decided to just eat out, but after resorting to chips and veggie burger for dinner twice, we were all dying for a lentil soup and salad, even the girls. So with these thoughts combined, we booked a beautiful self catering converted stable in the heart of Bedford’s countryside. As you can see we were surrounded by picturesque fields, flowers and blue sky, not a traffic light, police siren or kebab shop for miles in any direction (those are the sights and sounds that really remind me of being in the city).

The interior of the stable was modern, warm and comfy with loads of personal touches that made it even better. Best of all there was a fully equipped kitchen, it literally had everything (apart from a blender and food processor, which I brought myself)

But by far the best bit for me was the wet room. I have never heard of this before, but basically the bathroom has the sink and toilet, then at the back was the shower, which was the unit attached to the wall and then the shower floor. As soon as you’ve finished your shower and step out from it, instead of towelling yourself dry, you use a remote control to turn on the body dryer, which was attached to the ceiling, stand there and get blown dry (you can vary the temperature) then you’re off. It was bliss!!! It apparently uses up masses of electricity, making it probably really bad for the environment, but as bit of luxury on holiday, my conscience is clear!!!

Outfields isn’t really a working farm, but it does come complete with about 4 chickens, 1 rooster, 4 ducks, 2 cats and 2 dogs. Apart from the dogs which are locked up round the back somewhere, the rest roam free and in the guest manual, they warn you that the cats are good at finding their way into your stable, so just shoo them away if you find them there!!!

I am a complete lover of nature as you may have guessed, but I admit to having a complete fear of animals, not so much insects, but animals (I think it stems from being scratched by a cat when I was young) So having ducks and chicken quacking and clucking around my feet and cats giving me looks, made me a little uneasy and I’d always shout to the children to “Close the door NOW” when the animals were in our courtyard. The children loved them and it was quite an experience for them to be so close all the time.

The first day we arrived at 5pm, so we pretty much unpacked, looked around the stable, ate and went to sleep. Day 2 was an all day visit to Wild Britain (formerly known as The Bedford Butterfly Park), which is an activity filled nature reserve with loads to do, I was very impressed. In their Meet The Keeper section, we even got to touch a hedgehog, a snake and see a Madagascan cockroach.

Day 3 was our day to really enjoy our surroundings, so we took a stroll down the long winding road that leads to farm, to a field next to a stream where we had a picnic for lunch. It was hot and very green, with loads of little creeping and flying things from the stream and the fields, but so peaceful and pretty. We ate, told each other made up stories, chilled for a while then strolled back to the stable. We hit the MK (Milton Keynes) Centre for dinner that night and ate at a great restaurant called Giraffe.

The next morning, we packed up and said a fond farewell to the stable, before whisking the children off to a theme park in Milton Keynes called Gullivers which they have been talking about since we went last year, for a day of rides and running around.

I love getting away from it all and spending some real time with the family. As we’re both self employed, working from home and homeschooling the children, having a real break from the house is absolutely necessary a few times a year at least.

Where to next I wonder!

Well I’m back now and fully into the swing of work, Leah’s Raw Food Feast is going well and getting great reviews. The last private Naturally You Coaching of 2010 is starting soon, as is the first Naturally You group coaching. I’m working with the lovely Vicki Irvin as my business coach and along with my current wonderful clients, there are a few other exciting projects I’m working on which are all keeping me really busy.

My husband’s working on a transformational move in his business and the girls are spending the next few weeks doing a lapbook and unit study on deers.

So it’s all go in the Salmon house!!!!

Take care and stay healthy everyone

Leah

Top tips to whole food heaven Part 2

2010-05-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Now we’ve seen what whole foods are vs. processed foods, here are a few tips to make getting whole foods into your diet a bit easier

Top Tip #1 – Ease them In
Choose 2 or 3 new whole foods to add to your diet each week and have a little each day. So that could be 3 fruits, 3 vegetables, 3 fresh juices, 3 smoothies, 3 seaweeds etc. Start off by having 2 things a day then building up the next week. So you could have 2 fruits in the morning and raw spinach with your evening meal, but everything else stays the same. Then the next week you have spinach smoothie in the morning , some organic fish or chicken for lunch and a spinach salad with your evening meal

Top Tip #2 – Upgrade
Start to replace lower quality foods with their higher quality, more wholesome version. Start with breakfast foods, then snacks, drinks and main meals. Breakfast cereals can be replaced with whole grain porridges, commercial cartons of juice can be replaced by fresh homemade juice or water, chocolate and snack bars can be replaced with raw chocolate , whole food bars or fresh fruit, frozen microwave lasagnes can be replaced by lasagnes homemade from scratch

Top Tip #3 – Prepare once, eat twice
In the last tip I mentioned replacing microwave meal with a meal homemade from scratch. There will obviously be a big time difference between the 2, but if you make very large homemade meals that you refridgerate or even freeze, the first meal may take some time, but the other 1 or 2 portions of that meal will only need to be warmed up in the oven or on the stove (don’t even think about using a microwave!!!). Meals that are good to make in big quantities then warm up are soups, stews and baked dishes like lasagnes, fish pies, lentil bakes etc.

Top Tip #4 – Mix it up
Adding small amounts of whole food to cooked dishes is a great way to get whole foods into your diet. You can add grated raw foods to rice for a simple rice salad, add loads of raw foods to cooked pasta for a pasta salad and add loads of whole foods to sandwiches, as three examples of this

Top Tip #5 – Stay focused
Make a simple plan you can stick to, buy everything you need before you get started and remember why you are doing it on a daily basis, so you stay on track, keep adding the whole foods in and start to feel the benefits of getting nutrients into your body.

Have a great day

Take care and stay healthy

P.S. if you want to add fresh raw and live foods to your diet for just 9 days a month, you can get my brand new book Leah’s Raw Food Feast to tell you exactly how to do it, with 57 delicious recipes to use and meal plans, this is yourticket to raw food success, go to http://www.davidel.com/rawfoodfeast.html to get your pre order special price copy today.

Top Tips For Whole Food Heaven Part 1

2010-05-10T03:48:00.000-07:00

One of the simplest things you can do for your health is to add more whole foods to your plate on a regular basis, but if you don't know much about whole foods, then this simple fix can become a nightmare. If your diet is mainly made up of processed, nutrient poor quick convenience foods and you want to get more of the healthier, happier, whole foods stuffs into your diet, read on!

What's a whole foods?

These are foods that are in their whole state, with little or no processing done to them i.e.

Fresh fruits and vegetables (apples, pears, berries, spinach, sweetcorn, potatoes, peas, avocados, tomatos, cucumbers, celery, melons, coconuts, mangos, pineapple, oranges, lemons, onions, leeks, kale etc), legumes (lentils, pulses, beans), fresh fish, fresh poultry, fresh meat, fresh seafood, seaweeds, whole grains, fresh herbs, homemade fresh vegetable and fruit juices.

If the above are organic, free range, chemical free, grass fed and in season, then that's even better.

What's a processed food?

These are foods which have been taken far from their whole state, heavily processed with things added to them or nutrients stripped from them i.e.

Fast foods, junks foods, white bread, white pasta, white oil, white rice, tinned fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, poultry, beans and lentils with preservatives added to them, most commercial cakes, crisps, cookies, heavily fried foods, foods with MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate), Aspartame and trans fatty acids, frozen microwave meals, most chocolate bars, chewing gums, sugar laden breakfast cereals, sodas (fizzy drinks), juices from concentrate, etc

What's the point of getting more whole foods into my diet?

When foods are in their whole state, especially if they are organic, fresh and raw, they typically contain the most vitamins, minerals, good fats, enzymes and good clean sources of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. All of this means that when you eat whole foods you are feeding and nourishing your body with things that will help it to produce vibrant energy, heal, repair and grow itself, making you look great, feel great and think clearly. This is the point of your foods, to give you a good fuel source to function on.

What happens when you eat processed foods?

When foods are processed and harmful chemicals are added to them, they become useless and even dangerous to the body as a fuel source. Useless because they don't give your body any nutrients, therefore no energy to do anything, and furthermore some of them have to take nutrient from your body to be digested and absorbed (which is quite cheeky actually!!!). They are dangerous because many of the added chemicals can damage your internal organs and the processing changes the structure of the foods making them dangerous to the body also. So when you eat these foods, your body has to use it's energy and nutrients to protect itself from these effects, which isn't always easy to do

In part 2, we'll look at the top tips for getting more delicious whole foods into your diet

Make sure you register for the Raw Power Feast on 12^th & !3th May athttp://www.rawpowerfeast.com to learn more about raw, live fresh foods, it's all online, all free and we love you to join us

Excerpt From The Ultimate You Book - Lets Get Rawsome

2010-04-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share one of the steps from my book "The Ultimate You - 39 steps to transform your mind body and diet, in under 10 months, naturally" , on just some of the benefits of including more raw foods into your diet

Step 9. Rawsome

I could and probably will dedicate a whole book to the benefits of eating more raw foods, and there are already many great books out there on the subject. But in short:

Raw foods:

T Taste great (IMHO!!!)

2. Are a good source of water

3. Are a great source of fibre

4. Can be very healing to the body

5. Aren't addictive like many cooked foods

6. Provide vitamins, minerals and nutrients in their natural form

7. Have active enzymes which are essential to vibrant health

8. Satisfy your hunger without making you feel stuffed or heavy

9. Can take very little time to prepare.

Here are a couple of my favourite recipes to let your raw taste buds going

Pecan Nut and Date Milk

Even though almond milk is most popular, I quite like the richness of pecans which are a good source of fibre.

Ingredients

1 cup (150g) of pecans

3 cups of pure water

3 large soft dates, pitted

Directions: Soak the nuts overnight in the water. Then in the morning (or about 6 hours later) blend the nuts in the water until they are completely broken down, this could take about 1-2 minutes stopping the machine every 30 seconds or so, unless you are using a very powerful blender. Once it's all blended, strain the milk, pour the milk back into the blender with the dates and blend again for another 30 seconds and enjoy.

Succulent Broccoli and Ginger Salad

The thought of raw broccoli may not seem very appealing at first, but this is definitely worth a try.

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli

½ a inch of fresh ginger

3 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice

Directions: Wash and chop the broccoli finely. Mince the ginger by finely chopping or pressing it through a garlic press. Stir the ginger into the broccoli along with the olive oil, salt and lemon juice. Massaging everything into the broccoli will help it really absorb the flavours.

Once it's well mixed, you can either leave it in the airing cupboard overnight or put in it a dehydrator for about 2 hours. This will help soften the broccoli up slightly so it will absorb the flavours.

This can be served on a green leaf salad, topped with chopped tomatoes or avocados. Enjoy!

Step 9

Make 50% or more of your food raw a day for 5 - 7 days. You can do this by having a raw breakfast of vegetables, fruits, nuts and soaked grains and then a salad or other raw food for half of your lunch and dinner

Excerpt taken from The Ultimate You Book page 26, you can get your copy by going to http://www.theultimateyoubook.com

Want to discover more about raw foods and how you can include more into your diets? I have just the thing for you

Raw Power Feast

4 speakers, 2 days, 1 topic

How to Powerfully feast & thrive on raw foods

To register for this free event and receive a free recording if you can't make it, go to

http://www.rawpowerfeast.com

Have a great day

Leah

Top 5 Winter Warmers

2010-02-25T06:01:00.000-08:00

Give the central heating, blow heaters and electric blankets a bit of a break this year and use these natural tips to keep snug this winter.

1. Warming foods – Eating is the one thing we do between 3 – 5 times a day, so looking at our foods is a good place to start. There’s a fair amount of research that has been conducting about eating according to the seasons and this would certainly fit into the Locavore diet (a diet where you only eat foods that have been grown in and around your current location).

This makes great sense to me, as it is how our ancestors ate thousands of years ago, when they also had virtually no disease.

Local, organic, chemical free seasonal foods. So in the winter, including primarily the foods that are still growing, which just so happen to be many of the warming foods, is the way to go. Some of those foods include:

Parsnips

Swede

Onions

Turnips

Potatoes

Endive

Lambs Lettuce

Raddichio

Kale

Cauliflower

Brussels Sprouts

Sweet Potatos

Celeriac

Fish

Chicken

Oat porridge

Soups

Stews

Casseroles

2. Gorgeous Ginger – Add a chunk to your juice, cooking (chop it up or use a garlic press to mince it) or your tea to let it kick start your circulation and warm you up. Work out how much you can tolerate as too much can be a little hot for some.

3. A nice cuppa – Now is not the time to get your drinks from the fridge or pile them high with ice. Drinking your drinks at room temperature or even warm can keep you temperature from dropping and have a few hot drinks throughout the day can also warm you up.

4. Spice it up – Dishes seasoned (though not too heavily) with curry powder, cayenne pepper, garlic and mustard can help to increase your circulation and increase your temperature during chilly days. They can do this even if they aren’t served hot. A raw vegan curry sauce dolloped over a rich green salad of Kale leaves, parsley, coriander and spinach, with a few cherry tomatoes is a filling dish, which will leave you positively glowing (protein types may want to add some nuts and avocado to this dish).

5. Skin brushing and exercise – Exercising to increase circulation, enhance your immune system and of course warm you up may be an obviously choice, even some gentle stretches can get the blood pumping on a chilly morning before you head out the door to work. Maybe less common as a winter warmer is skin brushing. This is a great exfolliant for the skin, it helps to stimulate detoxification of the lymphatic system, it improves circulation and it can very invigorating.

You obviously need to be sensible in cold weather, doing the above alone without taking basic precautions won’t help much. So make sure you have a ‘winter set’ (hat, scarf & gloves) that you actually wear, consider adding more layers to your clothing and bedding and don’t stay out in the cold for prolonged periods of time. Keeping your ankles, wrist and lower back where your kidney are protected, can also help to keep you protected from the cold weather.

A warm good bye to you all

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

p.s. Did you know that if you pre order my book The Ultimate You before 25th March 2010, you get 2 free gifts, £45 of bonuses and a special early bird price - go to http://www.davidel.com/theultimateyou.html to find out more

Metabolic Typing: The Key To Raw Vegan, Vegan, Vegetarian Success

2010-01-19T17:04:00.001-08:00

Hi guys, How's January been treating you so far?

Well I hope!

I just wanted tho share with you a conversation I had recently, that might shed some light on why the way of eating you've choosen, that makes sense to you on so many levels, may not work for you

One of my sister has decided that her family (herself, daughter and husband) are going to be vegan for a month to help clean up their diet for a bit.

I have noticed that when bad stuff creeps in, a radical short term diet change can really do wonders.

But then a slightly worrying thought arose. Her plan was to just let all 3 of them eat the same foods. It didn't sound like such a good idea anymore!

Going back to when I became vegetarian in my teens, every one's fear was that I would lack protein, so I drank soya milk daily and ate plenty of soy and high protein meat replacement products, and though my energy levels were good, my hair wasn't in great shape and I had niggling health problems that lasted years.

When I started my raw vegan weeks, I had the same fear fed to me by the numerous sites I went to for advice "Make sure you get hemp powder, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, sweetcorn, green beans and seaweed to get your protein levels up", and again though my energy levels were good, and I lost a few cravings, I was always hungry and never satisfied.

I already knew and used metabolic typing when I started my raw vegan journey, but it initially didn't click to me that the 2 could have a harmonious marriage.

I was eating like a protein type as a raw vegan when I'm naturally a carbohydrate type (meaning someone who thrives on higher levels of carbohydrates as opposed to fats and proteins, to put it simply, use the links at the end to find out more about the different metabolic types)

It's only when I followed my metabolic type diet plan while eating raw, that I really felt fantastic on it, even during my last pregnancy

So no more surviving daily on loads of nuts, seeds, avocados, sweetcorn, mushrooms, green beans olives, flaxseed crackers, nut cheeses, nut butters, tahini and nori rolls

I thrived daily on loads of kale, arugula, romaine, tomato's, spinach, oranges, apples, berries, all melons (I could live on melon) lambs lettuce, coriander, parsley, basil, broccoli, cabbage, squash,mangoes, bananas and celery with smaller amounts of the nuts seeds and other higher protein and fat foods.

This goes for anyone following any way of eating, including my vegan sister.

I recently worked with a 'meat lover' who finally realised why he fell asleep after every meal and found it so difficult to concentrate after his favorite meals of steak and chips (all homemade with really good ingredients). Well, you guessed it, carbohydrate type like me.

After a few weeks of coaching, we were able to recombine his meals so he could still enjoy his steak and chips, but without the massive energy slump that typically followed it.

My sister is going to find out the metabolic type of herself and her family so she doesn't have to go through what I did.

And if you have ever wondered...

Why doesn't being raw vegan / vegan / vegetarian / or anything else work for you, metabolic typing could be the answer.

It literally gives you the freedom to successfully follow any way of eating you choose, by simply showing you how YOU need to do it, which is rarely by following someone else.

The new program I'm launching soon (I keep adding stuff to it so it's taking longer to reach you than expected, but rest assured, it's going to be BIG and BEAUTIFUL) is based on Metabolic typing and simply showing you how to incorporate WHOLE FOODS THE WAY NATURE GAVE THEM TO US into your diet. above all else, this is one of the most important and health developing things anyone can do.

I'm off to have some pink ice cream (frozen bananas, raspberries and orange juice blended up) have a great day everyone

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

P.S. Here are some links you might find handy
My YouTube video explaining metabolic typing -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IctBpdmHUw0
An article on my website on the core principles of Metabolic Typing - http://www.davidel.com/artwhatismt.html
Coming soon - My Naturally You Coaching Program that help you discover your Metabolic Type - http://www.davidel.com/naturalnutritioncoaching.html

Happy Holiday Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Now, even though I don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I never turn down an excuse to make a pie!!!
One
of the lovely little treats I enjoyed for my birthday was a raw vegan
pumpkin pie. It looked good, but I doubted that it would taste good,
until I tasted it!
My vain attempts at making pumpkin pie have
all fallen on their face, ...lack of seasoning and bland tasting pumpkins
I guess, but when I read the ingredients of the raw vegan one, to my
shock, pumpkin wasn't even in it.
I tried to recreate the pumpkin-free-but-pumpkin-tasting-yummy-yummy-yummy one and it worked, yippeee!!!

So
I thought I'd share the recipe with you, just in case you want a
healthier alternative to the traditional pumpkin pie offering.

Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie
For the pie crust
2 1/2 cups almonds
2 tbsp agave
1/2 cup of dates
1 pinch sea salt
For the filling
1 cup cashews, soaked for 5 hrs
½ cup agave
½ cup coconut oil
½ cup carrot juice (about 2 carrots juiced)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1½ teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder

To make the crust:
1. Place all the crust indregients into a food processor and blend until everything is broken down into a fine crumbly dough.
2. Press into a pie/flan dish and set it aside. You could put it in the firdge to set for 30 mins but it's not necessary.
To make the filling
1. Blend all filling ingredients in a high powered blender until very smooth.
2. Pour onto the base and set in the fridge for about 1-2 hours until set.
Enjoy (and if it turns out really nice, pop a slice in the post from me :-)
Take care and stay healthy Leah
http://www.davidel.com

My Gastronomic Birthday Weekend

2009-11-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

I was 21 (plus 8) years old on Sat 7th Nov and it was a weekend of my dreams!!!

Not only did I prepare very little of my own food, what I did eat was prepared by 3 world class chefs

On Friday night I went to a favorite of mine, Saf Restaurant in the heart of London. It's a mainly raw vegan restaurant and the head chef Chad Sarno knows how to 'throw down' a good meal.

I went for 2 of their signature dishes this time: Beetroot Ravioli and Lasagna. The stater tasting platter was delicious, as was the wonderfully creamy surprise birthday cake I was presented with.

I stuck a fork into everyone else's plate on the night too so I pretty much tasted most of the menu that night

Saturday we stay with my brother and his wife Che. Now Che can make pretty much any food, but when she presented me with a RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE HOMEMADE FROM SCRATCH, I had to take of several hats to her. It could have easily been on the menu at Saf (Sorry Chad) as a signature dish. Thanks girlfriend

Sunday was the turn of Gordon Ramsey's restaurant The Boxwood Cafe in The Berkley Hotel in Knightsbridge.

Now this was a particular treat for me. I have been threatening to go try out his food for a while and never quite made it, but I'm so glad I did. The food was exceptionally good.

I had the roasted pepper starter, Lobster for main and the chocolate foundant dessert

Oh my giddy aunt the food was GOOD

I definitely recommend it, if you go to lastminute.com you can currently get a 3 course meal there for just £25 (the lobster only cost more than that)

Aside from the food, I got to spend time with a lot of my sisters and family and take a weekend off work, which i really enjoyed.

But now I'm off to work with the fabulous clients who joined the Natural Nutrition Coaching program before I closed the doors on it this weekend.

Speak to you again soon

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Snow White, 7 dwarfs and 3 days

2009-11-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

A colleague of mine, Lorna Downie, Clinical Nutritionist, FDN, CHEK Practitioner, got an email from her client with the following clever little saying, I thought I'd share it with you

"If you eat Snow White (white sugar, white rice, white flour, etc)
you get the

7 dwarfs
Gassy
Bloaty, Chubby
Zitty
Cranky
Sleepy
and Dopey!!

So if you're ready to give your 7 dwarfs the boot, you've now only got

3 DAYS LEFT - Last day is Sat 7th Nov 2009 11:59pm

Go to http://www.davidel.com/coachinggroup.html to take a life changing trip with me, using a simple, proven and effective system

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

This message is only for 5 People

2009-11-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

I've deceided that this message is only for 5 particular people, 5 people who I can do the mosr for, whose lives can be enhanced the most by what I have to offer.

The 5 people are

Person No.1: "I'm so confused about what I should or shouldn't eat"
Person No.2 - "I want to effortlessly lose weight"
Person No.3 - "I want to eat delicious foods"
Person No.4 - "I want boundless energy"
Person No.5 - "I want to discovered my life goals so I can go and get them!"

This message is for you because I know exactly what you're going through because I've been there too.

I was confused what the best food for me was, now I know exactly what works for me.
I didn't know how to go about losing weight without it being torturous, now I easily maintain my weight
I love food and didn't want to be deprived of my favorite tastes in order to be healthy. Now I only eat foods I really love, knowing they love be back
I loved the idea of jumping out of bed every morning and having constant energy all day, instead of dragging myself out bed and around all day. Considering how hectic my life is, I rarely get tired and I'm super productive.
Most importantly for me was finding a goal, my heart's desire and doing something every day to achieve it, so each day is fulfilling, enriching and purposeful.

Leah , if you're one of those 5 and you're ready to take a life changing trip with me, using a simple, proven and effective system, go to http://www.davidel.com/naturalnutritioncoaching.html - You only have 6 days left so make it happen today

Davidel News Flash 7th Nov 09 last day for 2009

2009-10-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I hope you are all in good health and prospering.

I have a very special announcement for you all

I am happy to announce that from the 7th Nov 2009 (my 29th Birthday in fact), I will no longer be taking bookings for Natural Nutrition Coaching Programs

Why I am so happy? Well this massive shift in my business signifies 2 very exciting things for you and I

Have a look at this quick video to find out the whole story

Simply go to http://www.davidel.com/ click on coaching and let’s get started

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Green power revisited

2009-10-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Since sending this recipe out, last week, I've had several lovely emails from all you lovely people saying how much you like it (glad to hear it)

But there were also a few questions that I thought I'd answer publicly, to benefit you all

"This is a powerful green juice recipe to feed 2 adults and 2 children
1 cucumber
3 sticks of celery
4 apples
1 lemon peeled
1/2 cup (approx 120mls) water added after

Delicious, enjoy"
Ques: What kind of apples? Whichever apples you'd normally eat is a good choice, I normally use Jazz, Pink lady or braeburn

Ques: Do you remove the seeds from the lemon? No, but I do peel it

Ques: Do you peel the cucumber? No, the beautiful dark green skin nicely colours the juice and I love to eat the skin, so why not juice it too

Ques: Sounds great, but can you tell us how to make it?
If you have a whole fruit juicer, wash the cucumber, celery and apples well and peel the lemon, then put everything through the juicer whole. The juice should come out of one part and the pulp is sent out another part (depends on the make). Add the water to the finished juice.

If you are using a juicer with a smaller spout, cut up the fruit and veg to fit into the spout. Again, add the water to the finished juice.

Failing that, you could put everything into a jug blender with the water, blender it on high speed then strain it through a cheesecloth, muslin bag or sprout bag.

I hope this helps

To get more tips like thsi delivered straight to your inbox every week, join my FR*EE newsletter and get a free recipe ebook too at http://www.davidel.com
Take care and stay healthy

Leah
http://www.davidel.com

Drop the pretty lady and move on

2009-09-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

This is a great story I got from a friend the other day that really made me think, let me know what you think...

TWO MONKS & A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Two monks were on a journey when they came to a river where a beautifully dressed woman was standing. As she did not want to ruin her lovely clothes, she asked them to carry her to the other side.

The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman. Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his journey.

The younger monk couldn't believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them.

Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could contain himself no longer, and blurted out "How could you do that, when you made a vow not to even touch a woman!"

The older monk looked at him and replied, "Oh, are you still carrying her? I put her down hours ago."

You may do things in life that you vowed never to do, don't feel comfortable doing or thing you know aren't going to help your progress (i.e having one cake too many, eating something you know you are intolerant to, missing that exercise class, spending time with that negative person that always leaves you depressed etc)

But once you've done it, for better or for worse, it's done.

You can either drop the pretty lady, use that situation as information that can help you in the future, should it happen again (now I know how it felt, smelt, sounded when I did that, I'll know how to deal with it next time), or you can carry her round with you, feeling bad, uncomfortable, guilty, disappointed, unworthy, miserable, need I go on.

Take care and stay healthy

Leah
http://www.davidel.com

Green Power revisited

2009-09-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

Since sending this recipe out, last week, I've had several lovely emails from all you lovely people saying how much you like it (glad to hear it)

But there were also a few questions that I thought I'd answer publicly, to benefit you all

"This is a powerful green juice recipe to feed 2 adults and 2 children

1 cucumber
3 sticks of celery
4 apples
1 lemon peeled
1/2 cup (approx 120mls) water added after

Delicious, enjoy"

Ques: What kind of apples? Whichever apples you'd normally eat is a good choice, I normally use Jazz, Pink lady or braeburn

Ques: Do you remove the seeds from the lemon? No, but I do peel it

Ques: Do you peel the cucumber? No, the beautiful dark green skin nicely colours the juice and I love to eat the skin, so why not juice it too

Ques: Sounds great, but can you tell us how to make it?
If you have a whole fruit juicer, wash the cucumber, celery and apples well and peel the lemon, then put everything through the juicer whole. The juice should come out of one part and the pulp is sent out another part (depends on the make). Add the water to the finished juice.

If you are using a juicer with a smaller spout, cut up the fruit and veg to fit into the spout. Again, add the water to the finished juice.

Failing that, you could put everything into a jug blender with the water, blender it on high speed then strain it through a cheesecloth, muslin bag or sprout bag.

I hope this helps

Take care and stay healthy
Leah
http://www.davidel.com

My Raw Transformation Experience Part 2

2009-09-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the event was heaven for me..... it was all about food.

I have a passion for food and I love to eat really good food (hence my facebook group "We hate diets but love Good Food") I should really be the size of a house, but eating for my metabolic type really helps, so does running, literally running around after 3 under 5's from 7:30am to 8pm (I love every minute of it really).

There were 2 great food demonstrations from Karen and Russell with plenty of tasters (I still can't stand Mesquite, even Karen couldn't make it taste good for me!!!), followed by exercises and activities about our food types and a Recipe for Success.

The evening's activity was live coaching with 5 of us. This was great to watch and the 5 brave coachees were so honest and open considering there were so many eyes on them. Day 3 was cut short for me as I had to leave an hour before the end, which meant I missed the evening meal, party and the last few exercises. But what I was there for, was bringing everything we had done for the past couple of days together to a plan that could carry us after the event. For me, it was the most intense life enhancing experience

I've been on my food and life for a long time. It made me think and rethink many things in my life and re-affirmed my purpose for being here.

It was one of those situations where I wasn't even sure if or how I would even be able to make it when I signed up for it, even up until the week before, but the ancestors made a way for me to be there by the skin of my teeth and I'm so grateful.

Have I been rawly transformed? Oh Yes

I'm still not 100% raw vegan, but I'm not entirely sure I want to be for the rest of my days, but my overstanding around it is completely different.

There is so much more clarity and definition to my goals and I know what I need to do to get me where I want to be, so it was a very successful experience all round

The highlights of the event for me were
Russell James' Chocolate Torte
The Pear and Mint Salad dressing recipe
The Parsnip Rice recipe
Russell James' Chocolate Torte
A Guy called Lewis flirting with Karen and keeping us all suitably entertained
Meeting some lovely people
Having some me time
Russell James' Chocolate Torte
Spending some time with my husband and youngest for a few evenings
Russell James' Chocolate Torte, sorry did I mention that already

I wonder if she'll have another one, if so I hope to see you all there

Take care and stay healthy
Leah
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102700779603&s=1&e=0012kCAai-xZ-Jh-wvGRw9nHNLmYs3I1KxL5NyMTuXh6XA-vdt8CYrHgVHJU2Nq2DRN2j0E0PsEy5G5Kir9zAsIG_i4Dn3rbTapyeJpbvVjab0=

My Raw Transformation Experience Part 1

2009-09-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

I have just settled after a few weeks of holidays and outings and realised I haven't shared with you all in a while (which I miss doing) so I'll start off with a true highlight of my year,

Karen Knowlers 3 day event entitled

The Raw Transformation Experience

And what an experience it was.

But before we start...

Is it just me or is Cambridge too easy to get lost in???

At times, I must admit, with my limited navigational skills, I could get lost in a paper bag, but I managed to turn a 90 min drive into a 120 nightmare on the way to Cambridge the night before the event, then a 15 min trip up the road became a 35 min panic as we rushed to make it on time the morning it started.

At this point, my creative visualisation skills worked a treat. Even though I knew I'd be late, I visualised it not actually being a problem and reminded my self that everything happens for a reason which normally serves the greater good.

So a cool, calm and collected Leah glided into the 4 star hotel, situated in the beautiful Cambourne countryside a mere 10 mins late, having only missed housekeeping.

The creative visualisation REALLY worked on this occasion. Part of the retreat included 3 raw vegan meals a day for the 3 days. I would have gone if this was the only feature to be honest as it was being prepared by none other that the UK's finest RUSSELL JAMES, what a treat

So I had missed the breakfast and was quite hungry, but the Lovely Katie (PA to Karen) brought a tall glass of yummy green smoothie to myself and another lady who arrived just minutes before me, for us to enjoy while listening to everyone introduce themselves to the room

In the first day, we covered a whole host of exercises to help us gauge where we were in our own personal journeys, which included a beautiful guided visualisation. Very interesting. The day ended with Vision boarding, even though it was the quickest one I had ever made, it is probably the best one in many respects also

During all the days there was a muesli, fruit salad and green smoothie breakfast, fresh fruit, veg sticks and dips for a mid morning break, a full and filling lunch and another full and filling dinner. With ionised water on tap throughout the day, it made being raw vegan for those 3 days not only effortless, but delicious.

to be continued...

Take care and stay healthy

Do you need help, guidance or are you happy as you are?

2009-08-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

I've realised in the past few weeks that when people are trying to get healthier using their food and lifestyle, some people need help, others need guidance and some need a bit of both

Who needs help? There are people who are really at a loss when it comes to knowing what to do. They know little about food preparation, food combining, cooking from scratch, why water is important, how much to drink, how to plan meals, how to create recipes from their favorite food, the importance of exercise, proper breathing, natural hygiene and all the theory and mechanics of a nurturing vibrant lifestyle.

These are people who need help, from the basics all the way to the really cool stuff.

If this is you keep reading...

Who needs guidance?
There are also those of us who have read countless books on health, know loads of recipes, we've tried every superfood around, tried at least 3 diets in the past 5 years, juice once in a while, make the odd smoothie, get a few newsletters from health experts, possibly exercise and know why water is important and how much to drink, eat organic foods and so on. These guys are pretty clued up.

But, with all they know, they still aren't getting the results they desire and feel they deserve for all they know and apply.

These are the people who need guidance. The danger with these people is that some things they try will work great but aren't sustainable, others things won't work at all, so the whole notion of healthy living could feel unachievable and discourage them from every pursuing it again.

If this is you keep reading...

There are also those who have a little knowledge, need help applying and building on it and could do with some guidance also.

The good news for all of you is that help and guidance are easier to come by than you think.

Once you decide that you are no longer happy with your current state of health, and that now is time for a change that will catapult you into The Ultimate You, the solution you need will come to you.

This might sound a little open ended, but that's because the solution for different people won't be the same, but you'll know when you've found the one that's right for you. But it all starts with making the decision to change

I hope you find your way soon

Take care and stay healthy

Leah
http://www.davidel.com

Did we find the secret to health?

2009-08-17T14:18:00.001-07:00

The other day, a friend said to me,

"So, Leah, you've been studying this health thing for like 15 years or something, what's the secret to health?"

I know when people ask me questions like these, they never expect me to give the answers I do.

So I said "What time do you go to sleep?"

"Um, About 12pm and wake up at about 7am"

So I said "If you go to bed at 10:30pm and wake up at 6:30am for the next week, I bet you'll feel at least twice as good as you do now"

This question started a discussion with another friend who was in the room with us, around the fact that with enough sleep (It's a widely held recommendation that going to sleep at around 10:30pm for 8 hours is best), daily exercise to any degree and correct breathing, we all feel invincible, like we can take over the world.

Try it for a week if you're up to it.

Let me know how you feel

Take care and stay healthy

Leah
http://www.davidel.com

Remember this feeling and use it

2009-07-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

A colleague of mine mentioned that when her clients started complaining that

"It's too hard", "It's too expensive", "It's too restrictive"

She'll remind them to go back to the way they felt before they started the program and decide whether they want to live that life or the new life they are building for themselves?

This was usually enough to bring them around.

But to clarify

"It's too hard" - Ask yourself if it's too hard or just too different from what you are used to? Remember, if you keep doing what you have always done, you'll keep getting what you have always got

"It's too expensive" - The cost of being sick in terms of time off work, time away from your family, money spent on medications, health insurance etc is 10 times the cost of investing in building your health. Remember, the healthier you are, the more productive you can be.

and "It's too restrictive" - Firstly, some people just don't like being told what to do and rebel when they are asked not to do something. Secondly, restrictions are normally there to protect you from eating foods and carrying out activities that don't support your growth. Thirdly, if restriction relates to the fact that you can't eat your favorite junks foods all the time, then just give your tastebuds a break from them for a few days whilst eating any of the healthier foods that you like and you may just begin to love them too.

So, as a little task for you if you're up to it, I want you to tune into yourself for a few minutes and ask yourself

1) Am I completely happy with my life
2) How many cravings, addictions, aches, pains, injuries, irritations, allergies, rashes, spots, bumps and lumps do I have that I want to get rid of?
3) If I could get rid of them and become the healthiest, happiest and Ultimate version of myself, would I do?

If you have answered yes to the last question and you have counted one to many for question 3, remember this feeling and use it. Make a decision to change and go for it.

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Farmer Leah down on the Salmon Patch

2009-07-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

I've been i my garden quite a bit over the past few days and there have been some super duper discovery that have put a great big smile on my face :-)

Firstly, a really big tree at the bottom of our garden has decided that this year it's going to grow Cherry plums (as in they didn't grow any last year!) There are loads of them, most of them are green now but a few a starting to turn red

Some blackberries have also started growing, just a few but I know they grow rapidly when they do start

and last year I found some mint and nettles that are still growing nicely

I love the concept of living off the earth, not having to buy food in supermarket, just farmers markets, going foraging, catching your own fish etc. So even though i resolved not to try and cultivate my garden this year, the cherry plum sand blackberries made me think, if these are growing without any impetuous from me, imagine what planting a few small beds before the planting season is well and truly over would reap.

So, i think I am going to plant some tomatoes, butternut squash, lettuce, basil and coriander and see how that goes

Oh and I forgot to mention that the compost heap we started when we moved here (basically a corner of the garden that we put our lawn cuttings, raw fruit and vegetable peelings and remains, egg shells etc) has actually turned into compost, I started to turn it over today and dig down to the bottom where the food from nearly 2 years ago was and it looks all moist and black and rich. So we don't even need to buy compost or fertiliser now. It just gets better and better,

I just hope all this enthusiasm translates to food on my plate in the next few months!

Wish me luck

Take care and stay healthy

Recipe For Health Success

2009-07-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a simple recipe to keep in mind when you want to improve or achieve anything with your health, or even with your life in general

Recipe for Health success
1) Know what you want to achieve + 2) Get the help you need to achieve it + 3) Use all of natures pure and beautiful foods, drinks, herbs, water and sunlight to fuel you = 4) Step into your greatness

1) Know what you want to achieve - Be specific with this one, so instead of 'I want to lose weight' or , 'I want more stamina' go for 'I want a 34" waist and 36" hips' or ' I want to do a 4 minute mile' or ' I want to complete 20 laps in the pool effortlessly'

2) Get the help you need to achieve it - Professionals are there for a reason, it's always going to be quicker and easier to get professional help to achieve your goal, rather than using your time trying to work everything out for yourself before you even get started. So for example, if you want to learn Tai Chi, you could get an instructional video, download some instructions from the Internet and work it out like that, or simply go to a Tai Chi class run by a recommended, experienced professional. Make sense

3) Use all of natures pure and beautiful foods, drinks, herbs, water and sunlight to fuel you - To do everything from getting out of bed, to getting off the toilet you need energy. The purest, most efficient energy to run on is nature's finest wholefoods.

There's the expression that if you eat junk food, you think junk thoughts, make junk decisions and carry out junk actions, I'm sure you get the picture. So we need to be eating pure, clean, energetic and natural foods, which will be reflected in our thoughts actions and decisions.

4) Step into your greatness - I know that there is an Ultimate You inside everyone of us, just waiting to emerge, they just need the chance to be seen and heard.

Good luck

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Thanks but no thanks Oasis

2009-07-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Do these people realise how hard it is for me to get some of my clients to drink more water, without them putting up poster all over London that say

"Oasis, for people who don't like water"

For those who don't know, Oasis is a bottle soft drink, which contains fruit juice, sugar, water and aspartame, sold in England and I think the US.

It's a liberty frankly. Coca Cola, who not only make Oasis but Fanta, Sprite, Lilt, Dr Pepper, Kia-Ora, Five Alive, Minute Maid, Powerade and more, have used these products to get people away from our natural beverage, pure water, for decades.

Now their branding spells it out for you.

The sad truth is that our bodies NEED water, there's no 2 ways about it. We can be quite selfish to the needs of our internal organs when we put the wants of our taste buds over the needs of our body, then wonder why our urine is smelly and yellow, our skin is pasty and dull, our scalp is dry, our hair is brittle, we feel tired and groggy in the mornings, we are constipated and have low energy levels.

Lets make a stand, tell Coco Cola and their many brands of sugar coloured waters that we want WATER, fresh, clean, filtered, water.

And not their Vitamin Water, don't get me started on that, just plain water,

If you drink 8 times a day, make at least 5 of those drinks water and the other 3 good quality drinks and you'll receive great health benefits after just days

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Could your food heal others?

2009-07-10T09:37:00.001-07:00

When you don't do the best you can with your food choices, there are times when you are not the only one who suffers.

Think about how you feel when you see others eating bad food all the time, it kind of gives you the excues to do the same, but when you see people close to you, making constant improvements in their life generally, it can encourages you to raise your game too.

If you have social eaters around you (those that eat what everyone else is eating to fit in), when you pick up a pizza menu, they will too, but if you make a booking at Saf (Exquiste raw vegan, mainly organic restaurant is London) they'll be right behind you too.

If you do it right, it can also show others around you that it's not only achievable, but also fun, rewarding and delicious.

In this way, you could literally heal others by being and example to them, while you heal yourself, and you get to eat food you love, what a life huh?

Whoever thought their lunch could improve their friends and family lives?

Take care and stay healthy

Leah
Remember to pick up your free Ultimate You Sample ebook at www.davidel.com

Really Good Salmon

2009-06-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

I love salmon, but since I started eating according to my Metabolic Type, I've realised that even though it tasted good at the time, it just weighs me down, I can't digest it well as it's a really high protein food, not right for my type at all.

However, hubby is a balanced type (last time we checked) and he likes fish, so I gave him a sea food treat for fathers day

The father's day menu consisted of

Breakfast

Fresh Strawberries and melon salad with Carrot, apple and ginger juice

Lunch

Wild Alaskan Salmon in dill and lemon sauce, wholegrain brown rice and kidney peas with steamed baby broccoli and Italian leaf salad

Dinner

Mussels in white wine sauce, asparagus tips, baby corn and garlic butter new potatoes.

Dessert

Lemon Sponge and Chocolate brownie cheesecake

The food was the best stuff I could get hold of and it all tasted quality, but the star of the show was definitely the wild salmon.

I have tasted organic salmon, which tastes much the same as regular salmon, maybe marginally better, but wild salmon actually taste good. It still made me feel tired, but the mucusy after taste I used to get after salmon didn't appear this time.

There is nothing like quality food and as far as dairy, eggs, fish. meat and poultry are concerned, I would always advise you to get the best quality you can find, or not at all, for long term use.

Some of the steps in my brand new book The Ultimate You are on fresh, seasonal, whole organic foods, get your copy today by clicking here. I'd love your feedback

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Killer Chocolate craving remedy

2009-06-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Juicy sweet fruits

that's it, anytime I get a killer chocolate craving, if I can't talk myself out of it or see if it's stemming from an emotion at that time, I have been answering the call with sweet juicy fruit.

i just had a craving, not that strong but enough to get me out of my seat, so I made blueberry and nut ice cream

It tasted so good, I ended up eating most of it before I took this picture :-)

Recipe
2 frozen bananas broken into pieces
2 oranges
1 cup frozen blueberries
2tbsp almonds
1tsp bee pollen (optional)

I the dry food processor, grind the almonds down and put to the side. Next, juice the oranges and place the juice, bananas and blueberries into the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. spoon in to a bowl and top with ground almonds an dbee pollen

If you really want that chocolately taste, you could always sway the blueberries with 1tbsp of raw chocolate powder.

Either way, put your feet up and enjoy

Leah

My first teleseminar

2009-06-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

Wow, what a feeling, I have been working so hard on everything building up to the launch of my new book and the new site. I am pretty pooped actually.

I'm glad to say that, apart from the teleconferencing system cutting off the last 10 minutes of the call, it seems to have gone pretty well.

I have been working with a VA for the last week and to be honest, I don't think I could have done it without her. It is such a relief to be able to delegate work out to some you trust to do it properly.

I spend most of my life talking about health, diet and nutrition and I've been teaching for over 10 years to live crowds, radio audiences and smaller classes and workshops, but for some reason, I got really nervous before the call last night. I'm guessing it was because it's the FIRST TIME I'd ever done it. It was a good nervous though, I like being kept on my toes, trying new things and come out the other side with a smile.

The response so far has been really good, thank for all the feedback, it really helps.

I am definitly going to be getting some early nights to recover from this experiences.

Nighty nighty folks

Go to http://www.davidel.com/video_room.html to hear the recording of the event and http://www.theultimateyoubook.html/ to check out my new book

Should we praise the prevention or the cure?

2009-06-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Listen to this post here ;

I saw an article on BBC news today reporting that more premature babies are surviving when they are born between 22-26 weeks gestation.

I read on, as this subject is quite close to my heart. I've had 2 premature births. My oldest daughter, who's now 4yrs old, was born at 30 weeks and my son was born at 23 weeks and passed away at 8mths old. So any advance they have made is maintaining the lives of these babies is great news to me.

However, I firmly believe that more can and should be done to prevent premature births in mothers who are at risk in the first place.

I say this because, after my first child was premature, i don't recall ever recieving any advice on how I could prevent it happening again when I got pregnant with my second child.

Furthermore, when my waters broke early with my first child and i was admitted to hospital, on a very basic level, instead of being told to rest in bed with my feet up or lying on my left side, drinking plenty of water. I remember seeing all the other mothers on the ward walking around, so I did the same. At the time i didn't realise that they were all trying to bring on labour, instead of trying to prevent it progressing, which was my situation.

I was scared, confused and there was no one there to advise me. A week later I was back in hospital in labour.

Then during my second pregnancy, knowing my previous child was premature, not once was i advised how I could prevent it happening with this pregnancy.

When it was too late is when they really kicked into gear, offering drugs and procedure, instead of precautionary advice that could have prevented it in the first place.

So yes, the achievements they've made in maintaining life is great, but prevention is key , in all areas of health.

Children become hyperactive through boredom and bad eating habits then they come the rescue with drugs to calm them down like ritalin

People become obese through bad education on diet, exercise and wellness and they rush in with scapules offering gastric bands and stomach reduction operations

Unidentified food or environmental allergies lead to asthma or skin disorders and they rush in with steriods, inhalers and drugs in all colours shapes and sizes, before they explore less invasive, more preventative measures.

They are called health care providers, but they don't seem to care about us when we are healthy, only when we are sick or diseased.

I'm in the business of health care, let's talk while you are healthy or just starting to fell unwell, not when every part of you aches.

That's why I sign off

Take care and stay healthy

That's the last thing I want you to think about when we finish speaking, staying healthy

So

Until next time

Take care and Stay Healthy

Love Leah

My Digital Babysitter

2009-06-04T03:40:00.000-07:00

Apart from playing with my dolls and outside with my friends, I think that's what i did most when I was young - watch TV

My daughters are hooked on it too.

We got rid of our TV license so we could monitor what they watch by buying appropriate dvds for them. But they still end up watching it at any given opportunity.

And like most children, they can watch the same thing 5 times in one day, even movies.

I put my hands up that when I get busy with cooking and cleaning and they are around my ankles, I will use it as babysitter, which instantly takes the pressure off. But there is one big draw back

When it comes to homeschooling, the more TV they have watched, the more difficult it is to get them to concentrate, My eldest daughters attention span goes from 15 minutes (really good for a 4 year old) to about 5mins.

We didn't turn it on for 4 days straight last week and their work was great, but it slowly managed to creep it's way back into our lives.

I'm trying not to feel to guilty about it, the baby only just got here and she has an ever changing routine so in about a month I'll try and get the house back into a strict routine where the digital babysitter only comes in for an hour a day.

Got any suggestions, let me know folks

Take care and stay healthy
Leah

2009-06-01T07:55:00.001-07:00

saw the cutest pink wedges today, ripe for summer strolling, hubby thinks they're ugly, what the salmon does he know, still buying them ;-)

2009-05-31T12:11:00.001-07:00

free short audio on smoothies vs juices and you can get a free ebook too http://ping.fm/V31Bd

2009-05-30T23:01:00.001-07:00

what's so great about 6:30am, that makes my children always want get up then, today i want to sleep,

2009-05-29T20:03:00.001-07:00

What a day, off to bed now, nighty nighty folks

2009-05-29T01:28:00.001-07:00

So many great things happening for Davidel right now, i can't wait 2 share with u, join my ezine 2b 1st 2 know www.davidel.com

2009-05-28T19:26:00.001-07:00

Off to bed now, see you tomorrow guys

I've Just Discovered Rock Rose's Beauty

2009-05-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

I went to a raw talk run by the Fresh Network in December last year, it was really good and the food provided by Rainforest Creations was delicious.

Anyway, we all got a good bag on arrival with samples and information in it. One of the sample was a small bag of Rock Rose Fresh Frozen Bee Pollen.

Now also in December, I went to a Raw Food For Beginner Class with Karen Knowler and she raved about that exact type of bee pollen.

I'm very adventurous with food, but it didn't appeal to me much so it's been sitting in my freezer since then.

I've been on raw foods for the past week and loving it as usual. I had a big bowl of raw muesli as an evening snack and as I was making it, I saw the pollen in the freezer, bit the bullet and tried some.

Oh my giddy aunt it was delicious!!!

It tastes like a sweet powder and (this is going to sound a bit crazy unless you've tried it, but...) sunshine. Maybe it's the rich glowing yellow colour, or the fact that I know it harness the energy of the sun, but whatever it was, it was very well received.

Yesterday, I was reading Llaila O Afrika's African Holistic Health, where he mentioned that our great ancient African ancestors had bee pollen as one of their staple foods too..

I had it again with breakfast and gave some to the girls who liked it too.

I think it's love, or at least the start of something special :-)

I know Kiki health and Fresh Network sell it so check them out if you want to taste the sunshine

Take care and stay healthy

Love Leah

My Triad of Beauty

2009-05-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, as you all may know by now

Wed 29th April 2009 saw the eventual arrival of our 3rd daughter, weighing in at 7lb 15oz (biggest baby so far) at 5:40am and only 12 days past her due date.

If you have been following my twitters and status changes on facebook, you may have noticed I was less than patient over the past 2 weeks. I was really tired of being pregnant and baby girl was so comfortable in there that the medics were talking about having to induce me to get something going.

There is so much to say, so many emotions, worries, concerns, panics, frustrations and general irritations I went through towards the end of this one that i'll talk about in more depths at a later date (there is talk of a book on my birthing experiences, trust me I've had a few) but it suffices to days that, literally, about 30 minutes before my real contractions started on tuesday night, i had almost resigned myself to the fact that the beautifully naturally homesbirth that I had planned throughout this whole pregnancy was not going to happen and I would end up giving birth in stinking hospital, away from my children, surrounded by strangers and lights, having my body forced into starting contractions with synthetic hormones, which may not even work, resulting in me having a cesarian section.

I was low. Then i spoke to my sister Sharma and realised that the twings I'd been having for the past hour were actually contractions, and I had a good one while talking to her.

That was at about 10pm, 8 hours later, ta daaaaaaaaaa -)

I am so happy, I feel high, the girls are so glad she's here at last too, as is her wonderful father, I feel truly blessed,

But now I need some rest, I have some serious work to do now this chapted of my life has begun.

Speak to you soon

Lots of love to everyone who has been so supportive of me and my family during this time

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Does a coach need a coach?

2009-04-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

Oh yes yes yes

There are a few people in the health and business world that I keep a close eye on to try and reach their level in some aspect of my life.

Whether I want my newsletter to be as successful as their, or to earn as much as them, to have a site that's as informative as theirs or to develop their skill in marketing, coaching or helping others with their health.

A few months ago, i realised that a quite well known nutrition coach that I admire actually has 2 businesses coaches and I believe a life coach as well. She is very successful in what she does, her company is always growing, even in this economic climate and she gets to help so many people with here knowledge and expertise, including myself.

This initially threw me, I think my initial ignorant thought was 'she can't be much of a coach if you needs coaching herself', but then it struck me like a bolt of lightening, I need coaching

When you become a counsellor, part of your training is to be counselled, the same with life coaching. I then remembered that a lot of the training I have done to get where I am has required I find out my Metabolic type, get allergy tested, keep a diet check record for a certain amount of time etc. This enables you to have a complete knowledge of your work, see things from both sides and experience the benefits of the service you offer. It's like being a vegetarian meat seller, can you really sell and be sure of your product if you haven't experienced it?

Being guided by someone who is either where you want to be or knows how to get you there quicker than you'd be able to yourself, can only enhance you as a person.

This year, I have every intention to give more of my help and knowledge to more people than I ever have before, there'll be a few new projects you'll hear about soon and having a coach will help me to focus fully on achieving my goal of helping more of you.

I know how much the coaching side of my work has transformed peoples lives, so now it's time for some real self transformation, which will also benefit anyone who chooses to work with me from now on in, you'll get a revamped, fully loaded Natural Nutrtiion Coach at your service. I have been guided for many years by the great Dr Malachi Z York, which has gotten me to where I am now, and will continue to take me further still, so this will be a perfect extension to his work

Now i just need to find a one :-)

Take care and stay healthy

Love Leah

If The How To's Were Enough...

2009-04-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

"If the 'How To's ' were enough, we'd all be healthy, slim, rich and in love"

I heard Ali Brown, Millionaire success coach say this very briefly during one of her talks the other day and it really resonated with me.

Briefly it refers to the fact that we are in an information age now, there is hardly any fact you can't find on any subject. If you want to find out how to do something, you don't have to look very far. Yet with all this information on how to do things (like getting slim, becoming rich etc) there is still only about 6% of the population who are earning above £1,000,000 for example.

So what goes wrong between us hearing or reading the information on how to do something and actually doing it.

We get in our own way mostly

As a nutrition coach, I have heard many client say that they know a fact on health I tell them, when I ask them if they agree with it or think it works, they say yes, then when i ask them why they haven't implemented it into their lives yet, I am normally hit with an avalanche of reasons why not.

Even though i started my career as a nutritionist, i felt the absolute need to evolve into a coach because just telling people what to do it never enough, to make my client programs successful, it's mostly about taking their reasons for not improving their lives and working with them until that reason is gone and they can take that step towards health success

So, if you are struggling to get past the How To's, get in touch and book a Free Discovery Session with me, so we can make your life really happen.

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

What a load of.....

2009-04-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

Introducing the

FLEXITARIAN DIET

According to good old Wiki

Flexitarianism is a semi-vegetarian diet focusing on vegetarian food with occasional meat consumption. A self-described flexitarian seeks to decrease meat consumption without eliminating it entirely from his or her diet. There are no guidelines for how much or how little meat one must eat before being classified a flexitarian

Doesn't that just sound like a meat eater who's trying to go vegetarian, do they really need a new label to describe the transition.

I'm sure that if you eat any levels of meat, that makes you a carnivore, especially as there is no limit defining how little you can eat to still be in the flexi club.

I have a whole youtube video on some of the different diets around, called What's Your Diet?

Since that was released there have probably been a few dozen more diets created. The problem with all these diets is that you can get really jaded trying all these

One Size Fits All Diets

forgetting that you are an individual, so find out how your body works by asking......

Your Body

This is what I have been doing with clients for a while now and after they'd tried the rest, they come to me and try the best and never go back.

Remember if you want a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION to find out what I do and how it WILL help you, visit www.davidel.com

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

These people really drain me

2009-04-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that 2 of my past pregnancies have resulted in premature labors, one at 30 weeks of pregnancy and one much earlier at 23 weeks of pregnancy.

So every time I've been pregnant since, alarms bells ring in the hospitals.

My last pregnancy went over my due date and I had a very successful and completely uneventful home birth, thumbs up all round.

This pregnancy has been much the same as the last, no problems, good energy and healthy baby. The ONLY and I repeat ONLY problem has been borderline low iron levels.

Now I fully intend to have a home birth, but resolved that should my health seriously decline or the baby was in danger I'd go into hospital. My marginally low iron levels pose a small risk as IF, not when but IF i was to hemorrhage in labor, I'd have to be taken into hospital, there would be no risk to the baby and I have no history of any other blood conditions.

But over the last few weeks, my low iron levels have been a bone of contention leading to a few arguments with the doctors I've been seeing and today I left an appointment with them feeling tired, drained and questioning my own decision.

I am completely asymptomatic (I have no other symptoms) of being low on iron and one number on a blood result could mean the difference between having baby at home, in a clean, peaceful, comfortable, nurturing, safe, warm and protected environment, to having to go to a toilet cubicle they call and delivery suite.

But after some sleep, a few supplements and a really good dinner, I felt on top of the world again to and ready to tell the NHS to stuff their protocols up their bum.

The main reason i go to see them when I'm pregnant is for the free scans, general advice from the midwives who normally fully support home births and are very good at what they do and because I've been told that it's illegal for you to give birth having not informed a medical professional, so to keep them sweet, up to a point I'll follow whatever protocol they have in place for this to happen.

But they really aren't used to dealing with objections to their procedure, it almost flusters them.
Having spoken to my lovely sister Doula Uduak, she reassured me that they are obliged to come to deliver my baby if I call and tell them I'm in labor so I feel much better now.

Everything seen in it's true light is a test as my master teacher says. So I willfully accept this testing time and await my baby to pop

Love, peace and hairgrease ya'll

Leah

Touchdown!!!!! :-)

2009-04-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

Oh sweet sweet redemption and a full tummy feels so great folks

I had been getting contractions on Wednesday and Thursday evening and got really anxious as i just didn't feel ready for little one to come.

But since Friday things have gone from good to great. I sorted out my hair on Friday, believe it or not, this is a big deal as the thought of having messy hair and a newborn is more than I can handle. My hair is about the only cosmetic enhancement I partake in so I gotta at least get that right right?

Then on Saturday, hubby, the girls and I got up early, went to visit his pops (lovely old man) who showed us around his fruit garden and flourishing green house (I am so going shopping in his garden come harvest time) then on to my family meeting which was lovely, then I was told by hubby that we were going out that evening, lovely surprise.

So I got to by brother's house, my nephew looked after the girls whilst big brother, his wife and my hubby all took me to Chiquito's. I have been wanting to go there for a while so this was just great.

Now after last weekend's shambles, Chiquito's was such a nice evening. I had a virgin daiquiri, gorgeous, lovely soft garlic bread, a vegetable fajita which came on a sizzling platter (great fun) then hubby and I shared a pecan pie and chocolate brownie sundae.

Everything was just good, I had a really good time, and my brother and I were very loud and rawkus as usual and probably embarrassed my hubby and sister, the more refined members of the dinner party.

Then today hubby and i went to buy the very last bits for the baby and did a big food shop, so if the baby comes now, again food is the last things we'll need to worry about.

Everything is all in place, I feel happy, content and ready to be a mum of 3.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me on everything during this pregnancy, I really appreciate it

Love to you all

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

What 's Cooking In My House?

2009-03-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

In the past couple weeks I have upped the amount of raw in my diet and my body seems to be quite liking it.

The cooked food I've been having is simple but delicious.

My favorite foods right now are

Breakfasts
Pink grapefruit - half or whole depending how hungry I am
Cantaloupe melon - as above
Superfood smoothie - fresh almond or tahini milk (almonds or tahini blended with water) blended with raw chocolate powder, hemp powder, maca powder, udo's choice blend omega 3-6-9, dates and a banana

Lunches and dinner
Italian 4 leaf bagged salad (very well washed)
Rocket leaves, lambs lettuce and Romanie lettuce
Broccoli and kale salad (raw broccoli and kale finely chopped in food processeor marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and a little salt)
Celeriac, cabbage and carrot coleslaw (the veg grated then coated with cashew nut mayo)
Matt Amsden's Mock tuna and Eggless egg salad
Garlic butter veg (this weeks veg has been broccoli, mangetout, green beans, potatos, carrots, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, boils for about 5-7 minutes in water with garlic powder, olive oil snd salt, then strained and topped with butter)
3 lenil rice (brown rice cooked with garlic, curry powder, olive oil and salt with yellow split peas, green lentils and red lentils, served with chopped tomatoes and fresh corriander)

Snacks and sweets
Tiger nut sweets (an egyptian recipe for nut and date sweets)
Fresh strawberries
Fresh or frozen grapes
Frozen mango chunks
Oranges

I like eating like this , it seems to serve me and my body type well at this time, when I eat other things I can really feel the effects, so I'm going to stick with this up for a while

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Our Special Night Went Pear Shaped

2009-03-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

Last thursday, I was exactly (well according the pregnancy dating system) 37 weeks pregnant with our 4th child.

Now in layman's terms, I could drop any minute from now, turning our busy 4 part family into a very busy 5 part family.

I am such an advocate for family quality time and take any chance I can to drag my husband from his work so we can relax together for a while.

Our youngest daughter has only recently moved out of our room, stopped breast feeding and started sleeping through the night, leaving us with more free time in the evenings to work and play before the new baby arrives.

So, knowing that once the bundle of joys gets here, I'll be out of action party wise for a good 8-10 months due to breastfeeding duties, I wanted to take my husband out for a evening, to spoil him and give us some much needed quality time away from the children.

So I booked us a table at the 5 star Caribbean Lane Restaurant in the city and then the cinema to see Watchmen after.

It was all a big surprise for hubby who only found out we were going out 1 hour before we left, so after fretting about his mountain of work, he gratefully got ready and we set off. After dropping the children with my sister, we set off to The Lane

The place was beautiful, really welcoming decor and ambiance. We were shown to our table then things started to go wrong, for me anyway. Without going into too much detail, our waiter couldn't speak English that well, my starter and main course were bland and dessert size was extremely small, even for 5 star standard. My husbands main and virgin cocktail were the only good parts of the meal.

My brother and his wife went for mothers day and said it was the best Caribbean food they ever tasted, but they are meat eaters and I'm guessing that's why they had a better experience.

Hubby actually enjoyed it which is the main thing, so we then headed off to the cinema, only to find out that the Vue website had advertised an 11:50pm showing of the Watchmen when there was only actually an 8:30pm one that evening.

I was really peed by this point, but I think the gesture was enough to make the evening off work worthwile to hubby so the evening wasn't totally wasted.

Next time, I am definitly going to cook a really nice meal for us, myself, 5 courses, the works, cover the room in flowers and candles, have some really nice music playing, get a really good movie (an AXO download, you know how we do :-) and then get the hopi ear candles and massage oil out.

It would cost a third of what I spent and it would all be from the comfort of our own home.

Sometimes simple is better folks.

Until another time

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

It all started with wet windows

2009-03-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the most turbulent weeks I've had in a long time and it all started with wet windows.

My family live in a 3 bed house in Dunstable Bedfordshire, when we we looking to move a couple of years ago, after seeing many house we loved this one straight away, everything looked new and clean and just ready to move in and live good, so we bought it.

A few month after moving in, I realised that as much as I opened the windows while cooking or bathing, there was always condensation, loads of it too, on the windows, on closer inspection I realised that the windows were only single and not double glazed, the hatches didn't all work and there was a draft coming in from most of them. Shock horror, we hadn't even fully unpacked yet!!!

So we decided to get double glazing, we didn't have money for it at the time but my mum offered to buy them for us, yes she is a truly wonderful women. However, she said we should use Anglian Home Improvement who fitted her windows a few years before. this was a big mistake. After the initial salesman's visit, this company have been deceitful, rude, unprofessional, threatening and general wankers about the whole job, but because everything was bound by a contract my mum signed, unfortunately, they had the upper hand. I could go on about the company but it would take all day, so moving on.

They were booked to fit the windows on 19th-20th March, now I have had new Windows fitted before and it's messy work, being 9 mths up the duff with 2 little ones, I wanted to be as far away from the action as possible, so I arranged to stay with family, but a catalogue of errors meant that I ended up staying in Travelodge on the M1 southbound for 3 nights with the princesses, It was actually a really good sized room, clean, quiet (apart from us) and the staff were great. The little shopping area had a few good shops a restaurant apart from being ludicrously over priced, gave us something to do during the day. It was just crappy living out of a suitcase not having my stuff around me, away from my hubby with not much to do for 3 days.

Coupled with all of this, last weekend I gave my laptop to a friend to fix for me, I was meant to give it to him on Saturday morning and pick it up on sat night, but we ended up getting it to him on Saturday night and I have only just got it back today.

So finally, I am back home, in a house with new windows and a laptop which is currently downloading 1,800 new emails, but at least thing should be back to normal. Well, at least for another 3 weeks when our baby number 3 is due, yes it's none stop thrills and spills in the Salmon household but I would have it any other way

Speak to you soon, take care and stay healthy

Love Leah

Cravings vs. Excitement

2009-03-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have noticed something really interesting about my relationship with food recently.

I am a big eater, i really do love food, I can graze (keep picking at food) for england and there are times when i get real cravings for certain foods too.

But what i have noticed is that when i crave something that isn't beneficial for my health at that time, the feeling it quite desperate, almost like a junkie craving, there isn't happiness attached to it, just a sense of almost desperation. If and when I succumb to it or a healthier version of it (like craving pizza and making myself a wholesome homemade Pizza)

As good as it taste, I still won't always actually feel fulfilled, content or happy, 3 things I like to feel once I've eaten.

However, when I eat raw foods, there are times when i think 'Oh i'm craving green soup', but the feeling is of excitement and joy. the whole process of making it, savoring the colors, aromas and textures of the food is just wonderful, then once I have eaten it, i really do feel happy, content and fulfilled.

It's not just raw food that does this, but i have noticed the difference between foods that excite my being (the ones that i'll be makign a big part of my life) and foods that I crave (the ones that I'll be learing to live without)

As a slow oxidiser (a carbohydrate metabolic type), i do well on this type of diet, but don't think that because this works well for me, it will for you too. Finding out what your Metabolic type is key in helping you find the foods and fuel mix that works best for you.

If you can relate, feel free to leave a comment, i'd love to hear from you.

Take care and stay healthy

Leah
www.davidel.com

Water - simply profound

2009-03-07T13:26:00.001-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me, that one of the simplest things you can do for yourself to gain much improved health is to simply...

DRINK MORE WATER

...yet so many people I meet don't.

I sometimes think to myself that people must be so bored of me going on about how important it is to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, but then when I meet people who tell me they only drink juice, coffee, soda and maybe 1 disposable cup of water a day, my jaw drops.

Forget the drink milk and 5 a day campaigns, we need to start a Water's Best Campaign because among other things water:

Can relieve constipation
Improve the condition of your nails, skin and hair
Reduces the frequency, severity and occurrences of headaches
Improves your concentration
Cleanses your system
Aids in the digestion of food
Gives you more energy
Gets rid of hunger

And according to the worlds leading authority of the importance of water, Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, drinking 2 glasses of water about 20 minutes before you eat each meal can reduce high cholesterol levels.

So it really is worth getting more pure clean plain water down you on a daily basis.

If you don't like the taste, add a pinch of sea salt to a litre of water and shake, you won't taste the salt but it can make it easier to drink and absorb. or add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice.

If you have real issues around drinking water, you might want to deal with them before it gets too late.

Take care, stay hydrated and healthy

Love Leah
www.davidel.com

I am officially silly

2009-03-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

No seriously I am

because my laptop has been running slowly, I decided to increase the speed by deleting stuff, I ventured into the programs section and decided it would be a great idea to delete programs that I didn't recognize or use

and in the process of doing that, brains of Britain here managed to delete the sound driver. Now before yesterday i had no idea what that was, i thought drivers only come with printers, but when i tried to listed to my buddy Alton Walker's you tube video and there was no sound, I thought he was trying the silent approach, then i tried to open windows movie maker to record an intro for my site and i was told it couldn't open because the necessary hardware was missing.

This is when the penny dropped.

You know when you think back to what you did and realize it was pretty dumb, but at the time it seemed throughly inspired, that's the feeling I had right there.

I called my brother who thought it was impossible for me to have done it, and my older brother laughed at me.

So after trying a couple of things they suggested to no avail, I am left here until friday with no sound on my little baby, I guess I'll actually get some work done for a change

Pray for my sanity please people

Love Leah

Saying Goodbye

2009-02-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I completed a natural nutrition coaching program with a lady I've been working with since December and it was really quite touching.

I have really enjoyed working with her. In hindsight I've actually been quite lucky to have quite motivated clients, but going over the progress she had made from December until now was just such testament to me that this stuff REALLY WORKS.

She was really pleased with the results she'd gained so far and promised to recommend it to all her old 'Junk Food Junkie Buddies'.

Even though part of me is always sad to say goodbye to clients, as long as they have achieved the goals we set in the initial consultation, I know that I have served that client well and I feel that's why I'm here.

To serve and help as many people I can to use their food to heal their bodies and minds.

Saying goodbye can be hard, but when I get to say 'well done on making such excellent progress and goodbye for now' it softens the blow somewhat.

I was never the best employee, 9-5 just doesn't seem to agree with me, so self employment was really the only option for me, I'm so glad that after all my flirtations with network marketing, get rich quick schemes and trying to start businesses in other industries, I've finally found a job that is more than just work, but an integral part of who I am.

Not many people can say that these days, if you're one of them, good for you, if not, remember that there is always another way.

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

Was I making my children Sick?!?

2009-02-21T03:51:00.000-08:00

There has been a dreaded bug going around my house that's been bugging the life out of me.

For about 2 months, every 10 days or so, someone in my house gets diarrohea and vomits. A couple of times it's been at least 3 of us, but thankfully never all of us (by the way, there's me, hubby and the 2 princesses)

My youngest princess has been teething, the clever thing has cut 2 pearly whites in this time so I know part of her tribulations lies in that process, but the rest of us still got IT!!!

I was thinking it could maybe be the Norovirus (click here to see my youtube video on it) but the symptoms just don't seem to match up fully.

The good thing is that the children seem to get up at night, vomit, have some loose stools then for the rest of the day act like nothing has happened, no lasting effects, which is great.

This has really knocked me, because, I hardly ever get sick and neither do the children, so for everyone to have it is a bummer, especially at 8 months of pregnancy.

Then a lightbulb moment happened the other day. I have noticed over the years how much a mothers energy effects her family and to be frankly honest, even though I am here all the time with my children, with all that is going on with my life and business, I don't think I have REALLY been here FOR them.

I think some real focused time on my family is in ordered so I can pick up the cues a little sooner and adapt to their needs. The girls really feed off me so when I'm not 100% , they seem to get effected too, either in their behaviour, health or general moods.

Not a nice realisation to come to, but since I have it has actually made a difference.

I really see how the phrase ' A mother's work is never done' comes to play here.

So to my babies, inside and out, I look forward to spend much more time paying attention to you, instead of just being around you

Love, your Umi

Apple and Ginger Ice Lollies

2009-02-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

I have been going to town with these easy lollies, so I thought I'd share the recipe here too. This has been take from my last newsletter

Sign up to it for FREE at www.davidel.com and I'll send you a free recipe ebook too.

Here goes...

Apple & Ginger Lollies

They are so quick to make, freeze in a few hours, if that, and with none of the junk of shop bought ones, they are a winner all round. The first time I made these were with a load of apples I 'd brought from the farmers market that were about to go bad and they still tasted great.

ingredients:
8 - 10 apples - most variety work well
1 inch of fresh peeled ginger
about 150mls of pure water
a squeeze of honey or agave (as desired)

Simply juice the apples and ginger, mix in the water and honey or agave (i don't normally do this unless the apples are more tart than sweet) and pour the mixture into ice lolly molds, plastic freezable cups with lolly stick in them or just ice cube trays.

They should take about 45mins to turn into a nice slushie and about 2 hours to freeze into lollies

Enjoy

Be Good To Yourself First

2009-02-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

For those of you who will be celebrating valentines day tomorrow, I hope you have a good one with the one you really want to be with.

I will be celebrating Friendship day with my family, not only is the real story of St Valentines quite gruesome, but I am one who really thinks that celebrating and giving gifts to the one you love shouldn't be left to just one day of the year.

Friends seem to demand less from each other, there are less expectations, there's no 'Oh show me how much you love me' or ' prove you still care' or 'show me you still find me attractive' nonsense.

But this does kind of result in friendships being taken for granted and sometimes never ever being highlighted as the great bond they are. Not many friends say to each other 'you are a really great friend you know', not even once a year. So I think it's a brilliant alternative to the mushiness of Valentines to just celebrate friendship. Also this day is used to send messages to those you may have fallen out with to clear the air and make a mends.

It's a day to celebrate, strengthen and rebuild Friendship, so from me to you

Happy friendship Day

Soy sauce, tamari and pregnancy

2009-02-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

I make kale and broccoli salad all the time, but having run out of tamari, I used soy sauce in stead.

the simple recipe being
a handful of curly kale
a small bunch of broccoli
a squeeze of lemon juice
a swig of olive oil
and today a few dashes of soy sauce, but usually Tamari

There was no msg, or sugar in it, but it tasted completely different, and surprisingly it made the whole dish taste, well, wrong

They are both derived from the soybean but taste so different, but then again i am pregnant, and this pregnancy has seen some unprecedented changes in me.

which brings me to another musing of the day, how much, if anything, should I expect from myself during pregnancy?

I keep feeling that I am not doing enough, then feeling that I really could be doing more and this is on a business, personal and family level.

Should my only goal in pregnancy be to be pregnant and nurture my as yet unborn child, or is it fair to prepare and put things in place for the changes I'll face when they do arrive?

No two pregnancy or women are the same, so the observation that some women change the world during pregnancy while others are barely part of it during pregnancy, is hardly relevant. But I have been in a world changing mood over the past few months and I always feel like i'm on a timer when i'm pregnant, like the world is going to stop once the baby comes. Funnily enough, it never has!

and it all started with running out of Tamari!

Love Leah

It's been so long, but it's here!!!

2009-02-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

Hi-Di-Hi folks!!!

In one of my last post months ago (i promise they'll be more regular from now on) I spoke about my first ebook coming soon,

Well, It's Here!!!! It's been here for a few months and the feedback has been really good.

What's more, it's FREE, that right F-R-E-E.

I'm giving them away free as a gift for signing up to my newsletter, Naturally You, and the title is

'Naturally You Recipe Ebook' - 19 Simple and Delicious Recipes for a Healthier, More Natural You.

To get your copy, just go to my website

www.davidel.com sign up for the newsletter in the yellow box to the right of the screen and I'll send it over to you asap.

I'm about to end my snowy slushie day with a sea salt and lemongrass bath so speak to you soon

Take care and stay healthy

Love Leah

We get holidays too you know

2008-06-27T14:13:00.001-07:00

Next week is my daughter's first official half term holiday, so we are taking a week off to go and stay in London.

The internet can be a wonderful thing because honestly, I hadn't even considered scheduling in holidays during the academic year of homeschooling. I guess because when I think of half term and holidays, I think of a time when you get to stay home form school, but we're already at home so it didn't really register.

It was one of the many homeschooling forums i'm on, where the mothers were talking about what they were going to be doing during their holiday that sparked the thought, and here we are.

I'm not sure I could handle not giving her planned work or activities for more than a week, because she's gets bored easily, but we'll see how this week goes.

So close I can almost feel it

2008-06-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have made promises to everyone I know that 'the ebook will be ready really soon' when I knew I was actually no where near ready to put it out.

As with most things in my life, they may be completed in my mind, but the physical manifestation is way off.

But today something took over me and I managed to finish half the book, i'm on a roll now, maybe by August I can deliver.

Fingers crossed.

Raw Museli

2008-02-13T03:55:00.000-08:00

I have just had a big bowl of raw museli and it was really nice, but.......

Remind me not add fresh berries next time, I followed the recipe from my site from Karen Knowler

http://www.davidel.com/pages.php?pageid=272

because I love her stuff, but i don't like mixing juicy fruits with dried ingredients.

Next time i'll use:
Almond milk with raw chocolate powder
Almonds
brazil nuts
shredded coconut
banana
raisins and dates